Holding On Until Tomorrow
by thegreatwhitewolf
Summary: [Reposted] [gradual AU] Following his team's loss at the Dark Tournament, Touya's life is thrown into chaos. As he tries to make sense of it all, he finds himself taking a path he never could have imagined for himself. Touya/Kurama, Touya/Jin mpreg
1. Chapter 1 A Measure of Mercy

Author's Note: To my , readers. I'm sorry. To those on AO3, welcome to the madness. The updates might be a bit slow, so please bear with me. My life is a dumpster fire right now and the only two things keeping me sane are writing, and my cat.

.o.O.o.

Part One

.o.O.o.

Chapter 1 A Measure of Mercy

The scent of blood woke him. He jerked back to consciousness abruptly and stared at concrete. A million things were going on at once and his brain had a hard time processing it all. He was hyper aware of all the sights, sounds, and smells around him; a dull roar in the background, a woman counting close to him, a pair of legs, and the sickening stench of blood. There was a moment of blind panic where he could not remember anything—where he was, why he was there, not even his name.

Then his memories returned and the panic subsided. By the time Koto had counted to three, Touya had processed everything and decided what he had to do. He had to get to his feet before Koto finished counting to ten. After that…well he didn't want to think about how well he would fare against Kurama as injured as he was, especially now that he had the ability to summon his plants again, but he could think about that later, after he had prevented himself from being disqualified from the match. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, allowing a deep, penetrating calm to wash over him, and then he pushed himself up.

He nearly passed out again just from the pain and he bit back a scream. His legs threatened to buckle beneath him, but he continued to force himself up. One hand pressed against his stab wound to try and staunch the bleeding, but blood continued to flow freely over his fingers. He knew doing this would probably kill him, but he did not care. As long as he emerged victorious in the end, it did not matter whether or not he lived afterward.

Such was the way of the Shinobi warrior.

He had managed to get into a crouch when his legs gave out and he toppled to the ground, his head cracking loudly on the concrete. He lost consciousness instantly, though not for long; when he came to again, Kurama and Koto hadn't moved. Kurama looked down at him, his green eyes filled with pity. Touya felt a stab of anger; he did not want pity from anyone, least of all from this demon traitor.

"You have won…" he managed to say, his voice hoarse. "Now please, kill me."

He stared determinedly up at his foe. Death was the price he had to pay for his failure and he was more than willing to pay.

Kurama's eyes closed. "I will not."

Touya gasped. It was not the answer he expected. He stared up at Kurama, silently wondering why the demon was willing to spare him when he had not provided the same mercy to others.

As if Kurama heard his thoughts, he opened his eyes. "You never answered. What do you plan to do with this island…if you get it?"

"Who cares?" Touya choked out angrily.

It all seemed so insignificant now that he had lost.

"I too have spent years in the shadows," Kurama said and Touya could hear how much effort each word took. "Interesting how unexpected regret can appear. That's what this light does. I only wanted to know if you could make your life better…nobler…than mine has been."

His eyes closed and his breathing slowed. Somehow, he managed to stay upright in his unconsciousness. Touya stared up at him, puzzling over the rogue demon's words until the darkness claimed him once again.

.o.O.o.

He woke to voices.

"Is he dead?"

"Nah, I don't think so." Touya felt a pair of hands gently probing his body and flinched. "He's still breathing."

"Well, he's in the way."

Touya's keen hearing picked up a soft set of footsteps walking away. He hissed as the hands still probing his body touched his stab wound.

"Sorry there, Touya," a voice murmured.

Touya knew even before the person spoke that it was Jin tending to him; he knew his friend's scent better than he knew his own, that scent of fresh, clean air. Jin lifted him up gently, but even so, Touya cried out in pain.

"I'm sorry, Touya," Jin murmured.

He cradled Touya to his chest with surprising gentleness. Every step Jin took sent a tremendous wave of pain through Touya's body and he bit his lip to keep himself from screaming. When Jin stepped down from the ring, Touya thought he was going to pass out from the sheer amount of pain it brought. His entire body felt like it was on fire and it was the only thing he could think about.

Finally, Jin stopped walking and gently set Touya in the grass. The pain dulled slightly and Touya was able to open his eyes, Jin's worried face coming into view.

"Hey, you're awake!" Jin said, his face cracking into a wide grin.

"Somewhat," Touya said dryly.

"Let me see that injury." Jin's face suddenly turned anxious.

"It's not that bad," Touya lied.

Jin was not fooled one bit. He began peeling back the layers of material surrounding Touya's wound.

"Leave him."

Jin's hands stilled and he flinched at their leader's harsh tone. He turned to protest, but Touya caught his wrist.

"Don't," he whispered. "I'll be all right." Jin scoffed. "Please. Don't defy Risho. Not again."

Jin squeezed his hand and went to sit in his previous position. Touya closed his eyes, letting everything fade away except for the sound of his breathing. The pain faded to a dull throb.

He opened his eyes again when he heard Bakken's unmistakable tenor. "Not so fast."

_What is that asshole planning? _Touya thought, staring at the sky. _Whatever it is can't be good._

"You forgot something," Bakken continued. "He's still standing in the rink. Yes, it looks to me like he's volunteering to fight again."

_He's unconscious you asshole, _Touya thought. Then he realized what Bakken intended to do. _Oh, you sick, twisted fuck. _

"Oh give me a break! Kurama's not even conscious anymore! I'm taking this fight." Yusuke Urameshi was once again being very vocal about how he felt.

Touya strained to hear what Koto said. "Uh…all right! Uh, team captain decides! Yusuke versus Bakken!"

The demons in the crowd burst into loud boos at Koto's decision.

"Correction, the next fight will be Kurama versus Bakken," a woman's voice announced over the PA system. "A fighter standing in the ring cannot be removed against his will. As will cannot be determined here, the fighter remains."

On the surface, it seemed like the reasoning was reasonable, but Touya knew it was all just a smokescreen so that Bakken would have the advantage in the fight.

_This is so wrong,_ Touya thought. _Why does Risho sit back and say nothing? He cannot think there is honor in a fight where the odds are so obviously stacked against one of the fighters._

There was a squeal, followed by a thump as Koto was forcefully tossed from the ring and Touya felt a surge of anger. Koto was merely doing her job and did not deserve such rough treatment.

"Now that the ref is out of the picture, we can really have some fun!" Bakken said.

Touya closed his eyes again as Bakken landed the first punch. He willed himself unconscious again so he wouldn't have to lay here and listen to the sound of Bakken beating Kurama to a pulp despite Koto's repeated attempts to end the fight. Demon traitor or not, nobody deserved this sort of treatment.

"Not much of a fight," Bakken commented. "I like that."

_You sick, twisted piece of shit, _Touya thought savagely. _He's not even conscious. How can Risho just sit there and do nothing?_

"This win would help us greatly," Risho said as though he had heard Touya's thoughts.

His leader's words made Touya feel sick to his stomach. How could Risho condone such despicable behavior? This was not what the Shinobi should stand for.

"Stop!" Koto suddenly shouted. "I'm all for extreme pain and torture, you disgusting horse, but this guy's not even awake to enjoy it. I'm taking a ten count."

"Count yourself out, then!" Bakken snapped and Touya heard him toss Koto out of the ring again. "We're making the rules now, not you."

Touya gasped as he felt a massive surge of energy. No, it was not a single source, but multiple sources, human, most likely Urameshi, and demon. Touya frowned, then remembered Hiei trapped in the medical tent scam. His energy was returning? That was not a good sign. If this kept up, he would no longer be contained by Ruka's forcefield. And if he got out…

Touya shuddered to think what would happen if Hiei was unleashed on the crowd after witnessing his teammate and friend being beat within inches of his life. He had heard stories of Hiei's ruthlessness and had no desire to be on the receiving end of Hiei's wrath.

"Bakken, stop." Risho's cold voice cut through the stillness that had suddenly fallen over the stadium.

Touya out the breath he had been holding as Bakken stayed his hand.

"But why Risho?" Bakken asked angrily.

_Because Urameshi and Hiei are about to kill us all, you blind fool,_ Touya thought.

"Lay him outside of the ring," Risho commanded.

"But he's killed our sect members," Bakken protested.

_Just one of us, _Touya thought dryly. He groaned as he felt a wave of pain. _I'm not quite dead yet. Though Kurama certainly made a valiant attempt at it. _

"Yes, and if you had landed that punch, you would have died as well," Risho said calmly.

"What?!" Bakken demanded.

"Or do you think you would have survived a bullet in the back?" Risho continued in the same cold, measured voice.

Touya couldn't help smiling at the image of Urameshi standing with his index finger pointed at Bakken, ready to fire off his famous Spirit Gun. Teammate or not, Bakken deserved a Spirit Gun in the back.

"It's clear Yusuke cares more about that demon's life than this tournament," Risho said. "He's ready to fight every apparition in the stadium if he must. We need to win, not be involved in a revolt."

Bakken scoffed. "You're getting soft, Risho. You'll end up like Gama and Touya. If this prize is what we want, then we shouldn't be making concessions."

_Gama and I both fought honorably and lost,_ Touya thought angrily. _There is nothing soft about it. We both did our best and gave it everything we had. Nor is what Risho doing soft; it's sensible. If Bakken kills Kurama, Urameshi and Hiei will retaliate and probably kill us all. He's merely ensuring our survival so that we can keep fighting. But of course Bakken is too stupid to realize that. _

At last, it seemed as though Bakken came to his senses.

"Fine," he growled. "Take your precious buddy."

There was a loud thumping sound as Bakken evidently tossed Kurama out of the ring.

"Well, I think we can all agree that Kurama will be staying outside the ring. Just change the blasted board already!" Koto snapped with a surprising amount of anger.

Touya felt a wave of nausea as the demons in the crowd cheered and began chanting, "Kill the traitor!"

"Ooh, what a scary look." Bakken's voice suddenly cut through the din. "Am I supposed to be shivering in my bootstraps now? Or should I just be running for my life?" He chuckled.

_After what you did, you should probably be running for your life, _Touya thought.

"Why don't we let the fight answer that," Urameshi said and Touya could hear the anger barely concealed in his voice.

_This is not going to end well for Bakken,_ he thought. Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for his teammate.

The buzzer sounded and Touya presumed the fighters took their places.

"And the third match, Bakken verses Yusuke. You may begin!" Koto said.

Bakken began straining and Touya knew he was using his mist technique.

_This complicates things a bit, _he thought.

"What's wrong, Bakken?" Urameshi taunted. "We haven't even started yet and you've already got a nervous sweat. Do you give up?"

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Bakken chuckled.

Touya held his breath as mist floated over the field; he knew from experience that Bakken's mist smelled really, really bad. He only exhaled when his lungs were burning and choked on the stench. He took another deep breath to keep himself from inhaling the foul odor as much as possible.

"Pure insanity!" Koto exclaimed. "The ring's been devoured by a giant layer of mist. Urameshi has absolutely no idea where Bakken's first attack will come from. In fact, neither do I. I can't see my microphone in front of me."

Touya could see nothing at all, not even the sky. Judging from the punches being thrown, Urameshi's groans, and Bakken's taunts, Bakken was having a good old time punching him around.

_Well, it's not exactly fair, but at least this time he's conscious,_ Touya thought.

He was surprised when Urameshi started chuckling.

"What's so funny?" Bakken demanded. "Have I knocked you witless?"

"I'm laughing 'cause I'm relieved," Urameshi said. "You had me worried when you were punching Kurama, but now that I know how soft your fists are, I feel a lot better. Now I see why you were scared when Jin touched you before."

"I was not!" Bakken denied.

_Yes, you were,_ Touya thought. _Interesting that Urameshi noticed that too. That boy sees more than he lets on. _

"Oh come on!" Urameshi said and Touya imagined him rolling his eyes. "Your whole robe was shaking. I mean, I don't blame you. This stupid sweat fog is your only trick. I bet Jin could knock it away with one little gust of wind."

Touya chuckled softly; he had never heard anyone so thoroughly school Bakken before. He hissed as pain shot through his body again.

_Not a smart move,_ he thought.

"You'd better shut your trap!" Bakken yelled. "You're not a Wind Master, are you? So you're getting ready to die!"

Touya heard his footsteps running on the concrete, which sounded more like a herd of elephants doing the tango.

"We'll see how soft my punches are!" Bakken yelled.

"Spirit Gun."

Touya felt chills at how calm Urameshi sounded. It was more dangerous than his anger.

"Ha, you just shot in completely the wrong direction!" Bakken shouted triumphantly.

There was an explosion and a roar of wind. A thick cloud of smoke covered the arena and when it was gone, the mist had disappeared as well. Touya breathed deeply, grateful for the fresh air.

_Well that was rather smart of him,_ he thought, staring up at blue sky once more.

"A brilliant strategy by Yusuke!" Koto clearly agreed with Touya. "He's used the force of his Spirit Gun to blow the mist right out of the stadium!"

Bakken groaned. "Damn that boy. Huh? Where did he go?"

"Let me explain what's about to happen," Yusuke said. "You basically have two real options here. You can either turn around and have me beat the crap out of you, or you can get on your hands and knees and start begging. And maybe, just maybe, I'll listen."

"You dirty little son of a b…" Bakken's sentence ended in a scream.

_I guess we're going with option 1,_ Touya thought. _Too bad for him._

He heard Bakken groaning and his body falling to the ground.

"I think it's clear what that huddled over pose means!" Koto was clearly enjoying this. "I only wish everyone in the audience could've heard those cracking bones."

"Damn, I missed a few," Urameshi said. "You know, those lower ribs are harder to reach."

"S…stay away!" Bakken cried. "Please! Just have some mercy on me!"

"Right. Mercy. Like the way you kept beating Kurama when he was laid out on the floor," Urameshi said coldly.

_Ouch,_ Touya thought.

"N…no! It wasn't like that! I wasn't cruel to him! I was just excited!" Bakken said.

_Sure you were,_ Touya thought.

Bakken continued to beg. Touya couldn't see what he did, but he could guess that he tried to attack Urameshi unexpectedly because the next thing he heard was a series of punches and groans from Bakken. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bakken go flying past and crash into the wall that separated the audience from the fighters.

"Out of the ring!" Koto cried, not even bothering to hide her glee. "Naturally, I'll take a ten count!"

"That's a pretty good fight," Touya heard Jin murmur as Koto finished her count and declared Urameshi the winner.

He knew what was coming next, though he desperately wished it wouldn't.

"Well, looks like it's my turn," Jin said cheerfully.

Touya licked his dry lips. "Jin!"

His voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper, but Jin's hearing was good enough that he heard him.

"Hey Touya, what's up?" He said, kneeling by Touya's side.

Touya licked his lips again and forced the words out. "Please be careful. Don't want to lose you."

Jin chuckled softly and put his hand on top of Touya's. "I'm not fixin' to go anywhere. I promise."

Then, he got to his feet and walked toward the ring. Touya couldn't help feeling a sense of dread and closed his eyes, not wanting to listen to the fight. Jin was speaking excitedly, but Touya's brain was too tired to try and process his words; when Jin got excited, he tended to speak fast, sometimes becoming almost unintelligible. Touya had known Jin so long that he usually had no problem understanding him even at his most unintelligible, but now his mind was so foggy.

_What's happening to me? _He wondered. Then he remembered and gasped. _Kurama's plant! Could it have had poison in its leaves? Oh god, I'm going to die, aren't I? _

It was at that moment that Touya's body decided to betray him and he passed out again.

.o.O.o.

When Touya came to again, the pain was even worse than before. It blazed through him like wildfire and he could barely stand it. He picked up the sound of voices and strained to hear what they were saying.

"…spent my whole damn fortune on you." He could easily recognize the oily voice of the man who owned their team.

"It will be taken care of." That cold voice was Risho's.

"Convince me," the team owner demanded.

There was a low laugh. "If you don't trust me, then why don't you use your influence one more time?"

_What does he mean? _Touya thought, frowning. _Does it mean what I think it does?_

A soft chiming sound caught his attention.

"Upon reviewing the film of the last fight, it is discovered that Koto delayed her ten-count during Yusuke's first ring-out. Therefore, by a complete and unanimous decision, the fight between Yusuke and Jin has been ruled a double loss and therefore, Yusuke is ineligible for the duration of the round," a woman's voice announced over the PA system.

Touya's spirits sank as he realized that Jin had lost as well. Did that mean he had lost his life as well? Something else was bothering him. The woman's announcement…the decision that had been made regarding the fight…it seemed like a stretch. Then he realized the truth.

"No," he whispered. "Oh no."

The truth was so obvious when put together with what Touya had overheard. Their team owner had used his influence to create a bogus ruling against Urameshi's team. Prejudice against the humans and demon traitors would keep anyone from protesting.

_This isn't right,_ Touya thought. _It's not what the Shinobi stand for. It's not what we fought for, what we bled for, what Gama died for. I…I have to get up. I have to say something. I cannot remain silent. This will most likely kill me, but I'm going to die anyway from Kurama's poison. I might as well try and make my death mean something. _

He took a deep breath and steeled himself for what he was about to do. Pain unlike anything he had ever felt before ripped through his body and he had to fight to keep himself conscious as he struggled to his feet. He covered his stab wound from Kurama, fresh blood trickling out, and slowly walked forward.

"Risho," he said as he reached the ring and proceeded to pull himself up inch by painful inch. "This deceit has gone too far. Don't you see we'll make a mockery of their sacrifices?" Every word was painful for him to say and yet he never once stuttered. "Gama willfully gave his life so that we could win…not cheat our way out."

Risho seemed unaffected by Touya's words as the smaller Shinobi came to a stop by his side. "Hah. Spare me your romantic drivel, Touya."

Touya's eyes narrowed and he hissed softly. He may have been smaller than Risho, but he was not to be underestimated, and he would find great pleasure in turning Risho into an ice sculpture.

Risho turned to him. "He fought for the light and now we're going to enjoy it."

Toya's eyes widened as he deciphered the hidden meaning behind Risho's words. "But honor…"

Risho growled under his breath and formed a wristband of earth. He swung it around and caught Touya in the chest.

"Nonsense!" he barked.

Touya choked, blood filling his mouth. He caught a glimpse of Koto and Urameshi's shocked faces before he sailed out of the ring and tumbled through the grass. He lifted his head to stare at his so-called leader with disgust. The last thing he heard made him feel absolutely sick.

"We must always keep our eyes on the final prize, Touya. That's why I am the leader and you are the grunt."


	2. Chapter 2 As I Lay Dying

Chapter 2 As I Lay Dying

Jin woke with a groan; his entire body was sore. He stared blankly at a strange ceiling for a few moments before the memory of being on the receiving end of Urameshi's Spirit Wave and being blasted into the seats came back to him.

_Ah, right_, he thought. _Must've lost. Ah well, it was a damn good fight._

"Oh, you're awake," a strange woman's voice said.

Jin turned his head to the side and saw a rather pretty demon in a nurse's uniform.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Not bad," Jin said. "A bit sore."

"You were very lucky," the nurse commented. "You weren't hurt aside from some bruising. The doctor said you're free to go when you feel up to it, but he wants it to take it easy for a while, okay?"

"Okay," Jin agreed.

He didn't have a problem taking it easy while his body recovered from his ordeal. The only reason he hadn't been injured worse than a few bruises was that he had managed to cushion his fall with a gust of wind, though it still hurt like hell to crash into the seats. He was a bit surprised at how lax the infirmary was being run, but they didn't really appear to have a choice, he supposed, as he sat up and looked around the overcrowded space. They were clearly doing the best they could with the resources they had. He wondered whether his teammates had been brought here. He gasped as he remembered Touya, who was really the only one he actually cared about.

"Excuse me miss," he said to a passing nurse.

"Yes?" the nurse seemed uneasy for some reason.

"I'm looking for a friend of mine," Jin said. "He's a little guy with blue hair. I dunno if he was brought here, but he had been hurt pretty bad. He had a…a stab wound in his chest."

The nurse's face brightened. "I think I know who you're talking about. Come with me."

She led him across the room, past beds and beds of moaning demons, to a darker and quieter corner. Jin's instincts screamed a warning as they approached a bed. He swore he stopped breathing for a moment as he caught a glimpse of the figure laying there. Surely the nurse was mistaken. This pitiful demon couldn't be Touya.

And yet Jin knew it was him.

He had known Touya for so long that he would recognize him anywhere. Touya had always been pale, but now his skin looked nearly transparent. Sweat beaded his forehead, which Jin knew should never happen given what he was. His shirt had been removed and his chest wrapped in thick bandages. His breathing was labored, every gasp sounding like it took a monumental effort. Seeing Touya like this made Jin want to cry.

"W…what's wrong with him?" he said, somehow managing to swallow back his grief.

"Um…hold on," the nurse said nervously. "Let me get the doctor."

She hurried off before Jin could protest. The doctor came a couple minutes later. Jin stared at him; he was a human.

"Do you know this demon?" the doctor asked.

"Yeah," Jin said hoarsely. "He's my…"

He honestly had no idea how to finish that sentence, how to explain the complex relationship he shared with Touya. There was no one word that adequately explained what he had Touya had and as far as Jin understood, the humans didn't have an equivalent.

"He's my friend," he finally said. "My best friend." He hesitated for a moment before asking the question he didn't want to ask, "Is he…dying?"

The doctor nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid so."

Jin felt like the world had suddenly tilted sideways. He heard the doctor's voice low and anxious in his ear and felt a firm hand on his arm, guiding him to sit in a chair.

"Put your head between your knees and take deep breaths," the doctor said.

Jin obeyed. A few moments passed and then his vision cleared.

"Better?" the doctor asked.

Jin nodded and straightened up. "Thanks." It took several minutes before he was able to ask, "What…what happened to him?"

"He suffered multiple injuries to the chest, both a stab wound and blunt force trauma. We were able to heal those injuries for the most part, but it appears that he has been poisoned."

"Ya can't do anythin' about that?" Jin asked desperately.

The doctor shook his head. "Unfortunately, it's not a poison we are familiar with. All we can do for him now is make him as comfortable as possible."

"Right." Jin swallowed hard. "How much longer do ya think he has left?"

The doctor sighed and ran his fingers through his short dark hair. "It's hard to say for certain because we know nothing about this poison except that it seems to be some sort of organic poison. However, based on the rate at which his health is deteriorating, I'd estimate that he has, at most, a couple hours left." The doctor put his hand on Jin's shoulder. "I'm very sorry. We did everything we could to try and save him."

"Thank you, doctor." The words stuck in Jin's throat.

The doctor gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I'll leave you alone with him now. Please let me know if you need anything."

Jin could only nod. The doctor let go of his shoulder and walked away. Jin stayed in his chair for a while, trying to reel in the emotions swirling around inside him.

He approached Touya's bed slowly and took Touya's hand. "I'm here," he whispered, giving the too-pale hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm here and I'm not goin' anywhere, okay? I'm gonna stay with you until the very end."

He fought back tears and glanced around the dark, dank, crowded room.

_Touya doesn't deserve to die in a hellhole like this,_ he thought. _He deserves better than this. He's done so much for me over the years, the least I can do is let him die with dignity._

He carefully picked Touya up, marveling at how little effort it took and how easily he fit in Jin's arms.

No one tried to stop him and he exited the infirmary with Touya in his arms. He kept his pace brisk, anxious to get back in the fresh air. As soon as he was outside, he breathed deeply, a sense of calm washing over him. This was where he was happiest, under the open sky. He immediately started walking away from the stadium and hotel. His path took him into the forest, where no one would bother them. Only when his legs could carry him no farther did he stop. The air was very still here, an occasional breeze rustling the leaves providing the only sound.

Jin made himself comfortable underneath a large oak tree on the edge of a clearing and gently cradled Touya in his lap. He could feel Touya's fragility, hear his labored gasps, and he could no longer contain the grief welling up inside him. He let out a wail that ended in a sob. He let the tears come now, all the grief spilling out in a torrent of sobs. He closed his eyes, letting the grief carry him away.

Chu stopped and anguished cry tore through the forest's silence.

"Did you hear that?" Rinku murmured in his ear.

Chu bit back a snarky and instead nodded. "Let's go see what's goin' on."

They set off through the forest in the direction the sound had come from, Chu in the lead. Then he stopped. And stared. He could barely believe what he was seeing. Beside him, Rinku inhaled sharply. He knew the pair of demons sitting under a tree at the edge of a clearing only by reputation; word had traveled fast about the two demons who had objected to their team's dirty fighting tactics and had earned the scorn of their fellow demons for sticking up for Urameshi's team. Personally, Chu thought they were brave; it took a lot of guts to refuse to participate in the corruption that ran rampant in the Dark Tournament.

"Hey," Chu said softly.

The redhead looked up and tears streamed down his cheeks. "You're…" he frowned for a moment, trying to place a name with the face. "Chu? From Team Rokuyakai?"

"Yeah, that's right," Chu said.

_What's left of it, anyway,_ he added silently.

"That was a good fight ya had against Urameshi," the redhead said and Chu knew by his accent that this had to be the wind master, Jin.

He tried to smile, but Chu could tell his heart wasn't in it.

"What happened?" Chu asked, nodding at the unconscious demon in Jin's lap.

"Touya, he's…dying." Jin's voice cracked on the last word. Chu sucked in his breath, but let Jin continue, "Durin' the fight with Kurama, he got stabbed with some of Kurama's plants and the poison got into his bloodstream. The doctors couldn't do anything for him, so I took him. I decided that if he was gonna die, he might as well die out here in the fresh air rather than cramped in the infirmary with all those demons."

His last words ended in a sob and Chu felt an overwhelming amount of pity for him. He could see how much Touya meant to Jin and how hard he was taking Touya's impending death.

"You know," Chu said slowly, an idea forming in his head. "That Kurama bloke seems to be a fairly decent fellow. I'm sure he'd be happy to help if you asked. He knows all about plants and I'm sure he knows how to cure the poison."

Jin wrinkled his forehead. "Demons don't really help each other unless it benefits them."

Chu knew that as a Shinobi, Jin spoke from personal experience, but he couldn't help pointing out, "You're helping Touya without any thought of reward."

Jin refused to meet his gaze. "That's different."

"Still," Chu persisted. "Kurama's not like that. You know he has more honor than that." Jin still did not look convinced, so Chu added in a gentle tone, "We should at least try. No harm in that, right? It's the only chance he has."

At last, Jin nodded. Chu glanced at Rinku, who understood, and ran off. Chu only hoped he could find Kurama in time.


	3. Chapter 3 Though I Walk Through

Author's Note: I deeply apologize for the long delay. I sort of fell into a funk and haven't been motivated to write at all.

Chapter 3 Though I Walk Through the Valley of Shadow

"Kurama! Kurama!"

Kurama stopped walking and turned at the sound of someone frantically calling his name.

"Rinku?" he frowned as the small demon came hurtling towards him; this was not what he was expecting. "What's wrong?" he asked as Rinku came skidding to a halt in front of him.

"It's Touya. Please, you've gotta help him! He's dying!" Rinku said breathlessly.

"Dying?" Kurama said, taken aback.

"Jin says the poison from your plants got into his bloodstream and the doctors can't do anything to help him," Rinku panted. "Please, you've gotta help him! You're his only hope!" Riku said.

"Of course I will help him," Kurama said.

He followed Rinku away from the hotel at top speed.

_I pray we are in time and I can save Touya from his undeserved fate_, he thought, guilt washing over him.

He had not intended for this to happen; he had been desperate for a way to defeat Touya and at the time, it had been the best course of action. He had not stopped to think about the consequences that would unfold as a result of his desperation.

Kurama swore he stopped breathing for a moment as he and Rinku came to a halt in a clearing and he saw Touya in Jin's lap; Touya's hair was turning green. He remained motionless for a few moments until he could regain his composure, and then hurried to Jin's side.

"Here, let me see," he said quietly.

Jin nodded and allowed Kurama to examine his friend.

"It's worse than I thought," he murmured. He looked up at Jin. "His hair is changing color, which means he's thawing out."

Jin nodded, tears in his eyes. "I know."

"Then you know what happens when he thaws out completely," Kurama said.

"Yes," Jin whispered.

Kurama was not surprised that Jin knew that if Touya completely thawed out, his heart would stop; he gathered from their interactions thus far that the two of them were very close.

"We must hurry," he said. "Come!"

Jin immediately got to his feet and followed Kurama without question. Chu and Rinku followed as well. He led them to his hotel room, his mind already focusing on what he needed. He directed Chu and Rinku to wait in the sitting area and beckoned Jin into the bedroom.

"Lay him on the bed," he said. "I'll be right back. I'm going to get a cool cloth for his forehead to try and help bring his fever down."

He hurried into the bathroom and filled a bowl with cool water. He found a washcloth, dipped it in the bowl, wrung it out, and brought both out to the bedroom. Jin had put Touya in the bed and positioned himself in a chair next to it.

"Here," Kurama said softly, handing the damp washcloth to Jin.

Jin obeyed. Touya moaned, but remained unconscious. Kurama set the bowl of water on the table next to the bed.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he promised.

Then, he hurried off to find the necessary ingredients to make an antidote to the death plant's poison.

_My mother, Aina, was raped by a demon whose identity I never knew. Because the intercourse was not consensual, the Ice Maidens allowed her to keep the child she was carrying, even though it would be male. _

Kurama hesitated outside the door to his bedroom, antidote in hand, for within, he heard humming. He opened the door slowly and stared at the sight that awaited him; Jin humming while he gently bathed Touya's face and neck with the washcloth. The Shinobi were known for their loyalty being available to purchase from the highest bidder. And yet here was Jin, remaining by Touya's side even as he lay dying. Kurama cleared his throat to let Jim know of his presence in the room and the humming stopped. Jin looked up, his face full of sadness.

"I brought the antidote. How is his fever?" Kurama said.

"Gettin' worse," Jin said with a shake of his head. "His hair is even more green than before."

"Help me get him to drink this," Kurama said.

"What do you need me to do?" Jin asked.

"Get behind him and prop him up," Kurama instructed.

Jin obeyed. Kurama pressed the cup to Touya's lips and tilted it up, silently praying that even in his unconscious, delirious state, he would instinctively swallow the liquid trickling into his mouth.

"Come on, Touya," he murmured.

A few tense moments passed and then Touya began swallowing the liquid. A bit trickled out the sides, but he drank most of it. When the cup was empty, Jin carefully laid Touya back down and gently cleaned the liquid from his face before returning to the chair next to the bed to resume his vigil.

_The decision to allow Aina to keep her child was a terrible one. I grew up like the rest of the male children that resulted from impure relations with men; violent and cruel. I had a vicious temper and lashed out at anything and everything I could. Unfortunately, one of those violent spells caused me to inadvertently kill my mother. The Elders chose a punishment far worse than death for me: exile. I would have to live with what I had done for the rest of my days. _

"How is he?" Kurama tried to keep his voice soft so he wouldn't disturb Chu and Rinku, who had fallen asleep in the sitting room.

Jin could only shake his head. Kurama hurried forward and uttered several swear words that would have made Yusuke proud; Touya's hair was almost completely green.

"We're running out of time," he murmured. "Unless…"

"What?" Jin asked anxiously. "What is it?"

"Go into the bathroom and turn on the shower as cold as you can stand," Kurama said. "I'll bring Touya in."

"Okay." Jin exhaled shakily and went into the bathroom.

Kurama stripped off Touya's clothes and then carefully unwrapped the bandages around his chest. The stab wound had been carefully dressed and was healing nicely. He covered the wound so it would not get wet and gathered Touya in his arms as gently as possible.

Jin waited for him in the bathroom with the shower running, just as Kurama had asked.

"Here, take him and stand with him in the shower," Kurama said.

"All right," Jin said.

Kurama was surprised at how gentle Jin was with Touya; he didn't seem like the type to be careful about anything.

_Another thing he and Yusuke have in common,_ he thought with a smile as he watched Jin step into the shower fully clothed with Touya in his arms.

"So, have you known Touya a long time?" he asked, sitting on the closed toilet seat.

"Yeah," Jin said, smiling fondly down at Touya.

"How long?" Kurama asked.

"Couple of centuries at least. I've sorta lost track of the time," Jin said.

"Yes, that happens when you live a long time," Kurama said with a smile. "How did you meet?"

"I found 'im," Jin said.

Kurama blinked; it wasn't the answer he was expecting.

"You found him?" he repeated.

"Yep." Jin smiled at the memory. "I found him layin' in the Wastes close to death. I brought him back to the Shinobi and nursed him back to health. We've been friends ever since."

Kurama pretended he couldn't see Jin's tears mingling with the water.

_I wandered around in a barren wasteland for a long time after I was cast out of my home, sick with grief. I didn't eat and I barely slept. All I could think about was how much of a monster I was. I had murdered my mother and I deserved death. I wandered around without a purpose, growing weaker and weaker. Then, one day, my strength gave out and I just laid down so I could die. _

Kurama turned the shower off and heled out his arms. Jin carefully transferred Touya to him and he wrapped Touya in a towel he had waiting. Kurama gently laid him back in his bed and then got another towel for Jin, who was shivering badly. Then, the two of them went back into the bedroom to resume their silent vigil.

_And that's when he found me. I don't remember much; I was delirious from illness and malnourishment. However, I do remember a demon with vivid red hair, who had a strange accent. The last thing I remember was him picking me up and carrying me somewhere. _

_When I returned to consciousness again, the fever gone from my body, I learned that the demon's name was Jin and he had nursed me back to health. He introduced me to the Shinobi and helped me find a new purpose as one of them. He saved my life._

Touya woke abruptly with half frozen tears on his face. Someone gently brushed the tears away and then put a cool hand on his forehead. He tilted his head to the side and frowned, not expecting Kurama to be the one sitting in a chair by his bed.

"Where…am I?" he croaked, his lips dry and cracked and his voice barely working.

"You're in my bedroom," Kurama said. "Do you remember anything that happened?" Touya shook his head. "You were poisoned. I'm sorry to say the poison came from my death plant. It entered your bloodstream and nearly killed you. I do apologize for that."

Touya found it was impossible to be angry. Everything about Kurama seemed sincere. He had met a lot of demons during the centuries of his work as a member of the Shinobi and he had become quite adept at reading other demons. He knew Kurama bore him no ill-will and that his poisoning and near-death experience had merely been a result of the fight and not any sort of intentional harm.

"It's all right," he said softly. "I know you didn't mean it."

Kurama nodded. "Anyway, Rinku found me and told me that you were dying. I made an antidote, but you had a very high fever. Jin and I did what we could, but it was a very close call."

"Jin," Touya murmured. He gasped and looked around, alarmed at the conspicuous absence of his friend. "Where is he?"

He tried to sit up and groaned as a sharp pain shot through his body.

"Easy there," Kurama said in a soothing tone, helping Touya to lay back down. "Your wound hasn't fully healed yet. Jin is fine. I forced him to go get some rest because he was up all night helping me bring your fever down."

"I see," Touya murmured.

"Excuse me a moment," Kurama said.

He exited the room and returned a couple minutes later carrying a cup. He set the cup on the table next to the bed and eased Touya into a sitting position.

"Here, drink this," he said, handing the cup to Touya. Touya stared suspiciously at the liquid, unsure of if he could really trust Kurama. "It's all right. It's just a draught to help with the lingering pain from your chest wound."

Touya reluctantly drank it. It was slightly sweet, though not overpowering. Kurama took the cup back and set it back on the table.

"What have you given me?" Touya asked as the room started swirling around.

"I told you, I made a draught to help with the pain," Kurama said.

"Not that…why am I lightheaded?" Touya struggled to see straight.

"I gave you a mild sleeping draught mixed in with the painkillers," Kurama said.

"What?" Touya hissed.

"You need to rest and according to Jin, the only way to get you to comply is to force you to do so. I don't wish to physically restrain you unless absolutely necessary, so the next best thing is to drug you. Don't take it personally, Touya. It's for the best. See you in a couple hours." Kurama sounded extremely smug and Touya hated him right then.

"You bastard…"

Touya slumped forward into Kurama's waiting arms.


	4. Chapter 4 A Day in Mourning

Chapter 4 A Day in Mourning

Touya woke groggy and disoriented. He stared at the ceiling for a few moments, trying to piece together his memories.

"How are you feeling?"

Touya tilted his head to the side and frowned at Kurama, who sat by his bed once again.

"I thought you would be watching Uraotogi's fight. That was today, wasn't it?" he said.

His mind was so foggy he could barely keep track of anything right now.

"Yes, that was today," Kurama said. "I did watch the fight. It only lasted two minutes."

Touya was silent as he let that sink in. "Wow. That's impressive."

"Yes, it was quite a sight to behold," Kurama said with a smile. The smile turned to a look of concern. "How are you feeling?"

Touya rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand. "A bit groggy and disoriented."

"And your chest?" Kurama asked.

"It feels a bit stiff, but the pain is gone. The draught you gave me worked very well," Touya said.

"Very good," Kurama said. "You seem to be on the mend."

The two of them were silent for a few moments.

"Kurama?" Touya asked. Kurama looked at him. "Why…why did you save me?" The words poured out before he could stop them. "You could have just let me die. You could have gotten vengeance for what my team had done to yours. To you. It would have been easy."

"Yes," Kurama said calmly. "I could have gotten vengeance and it would have been easy. Vengeance is easy. Mercy is greater. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some things I must attend to."

Before Touya could protest, he was gone. Touya closed his eyes and resisted the urge to scream. What did Kurama mean when he said 'mercy is greater'? The words made no sense at all. Hopefully when he came back, his second conversation with the red-haired demon would not be so cryptic. He allowed his body to relax and he drifted off to sleep.

He was startled when he awoke again to see Kurama sitting by his side as though he had never left. He was usually a light sleeper and woke at the slightest sound, part of his time as a Shinobi. Was it merely because he was injured that he had not woken at Kurama's reentry or was Kurama more powerful than he first thought and could evade even his strong senses? Neither thought brought him much comfort.

He and Kurama looked up as the door to the room opened and Jin came in. He stood frozen in the doorway for a few moments and then ran over to the bed and threw his arms around Touya's neck.

"Jin!" Touya gasped, not ready for Jin's full weight to be pressed against his body so forcefully; it was like running into a brick wall.

"Yer all right!" Jin said in a trembling voice. "Oh thank god! I was so worried!"

"Jin, please!" Touya wheezed, unable to bear the pressure of Jin's weight.

"Jin, perhaps you should allow Touya to breathe," Kurama said, sounding mildly amused.

"Oh, right. Sorry," Jin said.

Touya coughed as the pressure on his chest was relieved.

"Aw jeez Touya, are yeh okay?" Jin said.

"I'm fine," Touya gasped, his eyes watering.

_It's not the first time I've been crushed by Jin's enthusiasm and it probably won't be the last time either,_ he thought.

Kurama smiled. "Well you need to rest a bit longer, Touya, but I think you should be well enough to be up and about by this afternoon."

"Really?" Touya stared at him.

Kurama nodded. "As long as you take it easy for a few days and don't overexert yourself."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure of it," Jin said with a stern look at Touya.

Kurama chuckled softly. "I am sure you will. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some things to take care of. I shall return later to check on you."

And with that, he left. Touya and Jin sat in silence for a while and then Touya said, "I presume we lost?"

"Yeah," Jin said.

"And Risho?" Touya asked.

"Haven't seen him," Jin said. He scowled. "I heard what he did. Bastard."

Touya closed his eyes, trying to process the news that they had failed in their mission to win the Dark Tournament and obtain the light. He opened his eyes as he felt Jin put his hand on top of his and saw Jin smiling sadly at him.

"Where do we go from here, Jin?" he whispered.

"I honestly don't know," Jin said, gently squeezing Touya's hand.

"Do you know…" Touya began after they had been quiet for a while. "Do you know what became of Gama's body?"

The words stuck in his throat because he did not want to think of Gama like that. Dead. It was such an ugly word, so final. And yet it was the reality he now had to face.

Jin shook his head. "I'm sure I can find out. Why?"

"I want to make sure he receives a proper burial like he deserves," Touya said.

Jin stared at Touya for a few moments and then gave him a sad smile. "I'll find him, I promise. You just get some rest and recover your strength."

"Okay." Touya was too tired to argue with Jin.

He closed his eyes, smiling as he felt Jin's lips press against his forehead for a light kiss, and let himself drift off to sleep again.

Soft voices woke him and he strained to hear what they were saying.

"…very generous…think about it."

"…sure…problem…wanted…offer…if you need it…"

The voices died away and Touya sighed. A few moments passed and then the door opened.

"Are ya awake?" Jin called out softly.

"Yeah," Touya said, struggling to make himself heard.

"Hey," Jin said with a smile, sitting in a chair by Touya's bed. "How ya doin'?"

Touya hated that question, but because it was Jin, he answered, "Better. Much better."

"Yer not lyin' to me to be strong?" Jin asked anxiously.

"Jin…I wouldn't…" Touya said weakly. "Not to you."

"Yeh promise?" Jin asked.

"I promise," Touya whispered.

Jin gently squeezed his hand. "I got Gama's body."

"Did you?" Touya asked. He stared at Jin. "You didn't do anything illegal to obtain it, did you?"

"No, of course not!" Jin said a little too hastily for Touya's liking. He cleared his throat. "We can hold a vigil for him after Kurama says it's okay for you to be up and about again."

"When will that be?" Touya wondered.

"I dunno," Jin said. "I'll see if I can find out, though!"

He got up from his chair and darted out of the room. Touya shook his head.

_Typical of Jin to not hold still_, he thought affectionately.

Jin returned a while later with Kurama behind him.

"Good afternoon, Touya," Kurama said. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Touya said. "I definitely feel an improvement."

"Good," Kurama said, smiling. "That's very good." He turned around. "Jin, could you do me a favor and step outside for a few minutes? I have some things to discuss with Touya in private."

A surprised expression crossed Jin's face, but he nodded and went outside. Touya was surprised he went without arguing.

"Now," Kurama said, stepping forward, and Touya felt a surge of anxiety.

_Calm down, he's not going to hurt you,_ he mentally scolded himself.

His heart still raced as Kurama regarded him, his face expressionless. That was what made Kurama, dangerous, Touya decided. While he could read Kurama some of the time, there were still times where he was unreadable. And that scared Touya more than anything.

"I want the truth." Kurama's voice was quiet, but firm. "How are you really feeling?"

Touya swallowed hard at the intense look Kurama gave him. "I'm fine."

"Truly?" Kurama asked. "You are not trying to put on a brave face?"

"No," Touya said. "Is that why you sent Jin away?"

"I had to be sure," Kurama said.

"You think I would lie to Jin?" Touya asked coolly.

"I think you would not want to worry him," Kurama said, his voice never losing its calm, measured tone. "The two of you seem to share a very special bond."

Touya felt a stab of irritation. Who did he think he was, presuming to understand what he and Jin shared?

He must have made a face because Kurama added, "Forgive me. I don't mean to assume I have an intimate knowledge about your relationship with Jin. I only meant that I saw how worried Jin was about you and that he seems to care a great deal about you."

Touya turned away so Kurama wouldn't see him blushing. "It's complicated."

"Indeed," Kurama murmured. "If you don't mind, I'd like to have a look at your chest would to see how it's healing."

"Yes, of course," Touya said.

"Lay flat on your back if you would."

Touya obeyed. Kurama's hands were gentle as he unwrapped the bandages around Touya's chest.

"How does it look?" Touya asked, trying not to sound too anxious.

He couldn't help wincing as Kurama's hands probed a tender spot.

"Does that hurt?" Kurama asked with a frowned.

"Yes, a bit," Touya said through clenched teeth.

"How much?"

"Not a lot," Touya said as the pain receded. "It's just a bit tender."

"Well, some tenderness is to be expected," Kurama said. "Other than the tenderness, are there any other problems you've noticed?"

"No." Touya shook his head.

"Are you breathing okay? There's no pain when you inhale or exhale?" Kurama asked.

Touya inhaled as deeply as he could and exhaled and shook his head when he didn't feel any pain.

"Any dizziness or lightheadedness?" Kurama asked.

"No," Touya said crossly.

"I'm just trying to be thorough," Kurama said in a gentle tone. "I don't want anything else to happen to you."

Touya sighed.

"All right, let's see if we can get you up and about," Kurama said. He carefully wrapped a fresh set of bandages around Touya's chest. "Now, we're going to take it nice and easy. Please let me know if you feel dizzy at once or if you experience any pain."

"All right," Touya agreed.

Kurama helped him ease into a sitting position.

"Good?" Kurama asked.

"Yes," Touya said.

"All right, now swing your legs around the side of the bed," Kurama said.

Touya did as he was told. Kurama rested his hand on the small of his back. Touya tried not to blush when Kurama wrapped his other around him because he was so close and warm.

"Ready?" Kurama said in his hear.

"Y…yeah," Touya stuttered.

"Stand," Kurama instructed.

Touya slowly got to his feet. He swayed and instinctively grabbed Kurama's arm to steady himself.

"Easy there," Kurama murmured in his ear. "I've got you."

A few moments passed and Touya found his equilibrium returning. He gave Kurama a nod to indicate he was all right. Without waiting for instruction from Kurama, he took a tentative step forward. His movements were clumsy and his chest felt stiff, but he continued to walk. He didn't realize he was walking on his own until he reached the door and turned around. Kurama still stood by the bed, watching him with a smile. He swore his heart skipped a beat when he saw that beautiful, gentle smile. He shook his head. What was he thinking? This was neither the place nor the time for those thoughts.

He took a deep breath and started walking back towards the bed. He was glad to have the chance to sit on the bed and rest; he certainly was not back at full strength yet and even the simple task of walking across the small room and back took more effort than he cared to admit.

"How are you feeling?" Kurama asked.

"I'm all right," Touya said, trying not to show how winded he was.

"Good," Kurama said. "Wait here while I speak to Jin. Then you can get out of here. How does that sound?"

Touya gave him a small smile. "That sounds very good."

"Good," Kurama said. "Oh, I believe Jin brought these for you, a fresh set of clothes. Why don't you change while you're waiting?"

Touya nodded and took the neatly folded clothes from Kurama, grateful that Jin had thought to bring them for him. Kurama stepped outside, leaving the door open a crack. Touya could hear him talking to Jin and tried not to listen.

"…sure he doesn't exert himself too much."

"I will."

"Let me know…changes…fever."

Touya exhaled softly, trying to keep himself calm as he dressed in the clean clothes. He was very happy to be leaving Kurama's room, but it also meant the possibility of running into Risho and he wasn't sure if he was ready for that yet. He didn't want to face his leader without knowing how he should confront Risho's actions during their fight. Did he call out his despicable behavior? Did he turn a blind eye? How could he live with himself if he did that? There were so many questions he needed to answer before he could confront Risho, but first, he needed to mourn Gama. Even with all the turmoil, both external and internal, it was still important to pause and honor the lost.

"Touya?" a quiet voice caused Touya to raise his head. Kurama had come back into the room with Jin behind him. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes." Touya nodded, swallowing hard.

He rose stiffly and followed Jin out. Kurama walked them to the door.

"Take care of yourselves," he said softly.

"We will," Jin said. "And uh…thanks for…everything. For not letting Touya die."

There was an embarrassed pause with Jin's words hanging in the air between them. Then, the moment passed and they said goodbye. Jin led the way down the stairs and through a maze of service hallways. Touya had the feeling they weren't supposed to be here, but no one stopped them. Jin exited the hotel first and held the door open for Touya.

"Thank you, Jin," Touya murmured.

"No sweat, pal," Jin said with one of his trademark grins.

Touya blinked as he was met by the harsh afternoon sun. After spending so much time in Kurama's dimly lit room and the artificial light of the hotel, the sudden transition to natural daylight was jarring. He had to stop walking and raise his hand to shield his eyes.

"You okay?" Jin sensed that Touya had stopped following him and turned to see what was wrong.

"Y…yeah," Touya said. "Just not used to the light. Bright."

Jin chuckled softly. "Yeah, I can imagine that it's a bit bright, especially after bein' in Kurama's dark room for so long. Here."

Without warning, he took Touya by the hand and led him away from the hotel. Touya didn't say anything, though a faint blush tinged his otherwise pale cheeks.

Jin led him down a narrow, winding, rocky path that skirted the sea. The path sloped gently down the mountain until it leveled out right beside the sea. It was much cooler down here, a nice breeze coming off the water. Touya inhaled the sharp scent of salt water and felt more relaxed than he had since arriving on this island. They walked alongside the sea for a while, listening to the gentle lapping of the waves on the rocks.

Just when Touya was beginning to tire, Jin stopped. They had arrived at the mouth of a cave carved into the mountainside.

"He's in here,' Jin said quietly.

Touya nodded, his throat suddenly constricting.

"I had them bring down everything we'll need to take care of him," Jin continued. "We'll see him off properly, don't ya worry."

The interior of the cave was lit by torches placed strategically on the walls. Gama's body was laid out in the center of the cave on a bier. It had been washed and dressed in fresh linens, as was customary in Shinobi funeral rites.

Touya turned to Jin. "You did this?"

"Yeah," Jin said with a smile.

"You didn't have to do this by yourself," Touya murmured.

"I know, but I wanted to," Jin said.

Touya knew better than to argue with him. The two of them settled themselves on the hard cave floor around the bier. They would sit a vigil for Gama in silent contemplation, reflecting on their time with Gama and what he meant to them. Then, they would cremate him at dawn and scatter his ashes in the sea.

Touya inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. He exhaled slowly, allowing his mind to go blank in preparation for his night of reflection.

_In all honesty, I didn't know Gama that well on a personal level. I was not, shall we say, the social type, and I had a reputation because of my bloody past. Most of the Shinobi tended to avoid me even though they probably had more blood on their hands than I. Perhaps it was because I murdered my mother and even Shinobi have standards, or perhaps it was just something about me that drove them away. Jin, of course, was the exception to that, but Jin was the exception to many things. _

_My first impression of Gama was a strange looking creature with fierce eyes. I had lived a sheltered life among the Ice Maidens so I was not prepared for demons who looked quite different._

_Our paths did not cross much aside from the occasional sparring match. He was always polite to me and treated me with respect. I did the same. It was not difficult; he was an easy demon to respect. He was a skilled fighter and did his job well and without complaint. We had a cordial relationship, although it was always strictly professional._

_Gama, please forgive me for not being able to avenge your death like I promised. _

Touya exhaled softly for the last time and allowed himself to open his eyes. His cheeks were wet with half frozen tears. He hastily wiped them away before Jin could see them. He rose slowly with a groan, his body stiff from sitting in the same position all night. He stretched slowly until all the stiffness was gone and crossed the cave. He stood at the entrance, staring out at the dawn sky. The sun was just beginning to peek through pewter clouds which were slowly dispersing and the air smelled fresh and wet. He remembered hearing the soft pitter patter of rain through the haze of his meditation, but he had pushed it from his mind.

He turned when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Are ya ready to say your final goodbye?" Jin asked softly.

Touya nodded, his throat constricting again. He and Jin took torches off the wall and held them out toward the bier. The wood caught fire immediately and it spread quickly. Touya and Jin stepped back as the bier became engulfed by flames.

They collected the ashes in a jar Jin had arranged to be provided for their use and stepped out of the cave. The sun had fully risen now, the clouds completely dispersed. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day.

They stood at the edge of the water with the jar of Gama's ashes between them. Jin turned to Touya, who nodded. Jin reached into the jar and took a handful of ashes. He opened his fist, allowing the wind to carry the ashes toward the sea. Touya scooped up a handful of ashes and mimicked Jin's actions.

_Farewell, Gama,_ he thought as he and Jin took turns giving Gama's ashes to the sea.

He let the tears come now, his grief too powerful to contain any longer. He felt Jin's hand slip into his and squeezed it gently.

They stood in silence for a while, watching the sea and then started the journey back up to the hotel.


	5. Chapter 5 A Cold Wind Blows

Author's Note: Ohhhh this chapter was a bitch. I procrastinated on it for most of January and then right as I was starting to pick up working on it again, I got sick. My sincerest apologies for the delay. I also apologize if there are typos or if this chapter is a trainwreck. It's quite late.

Warning: this chapter contains sexual content. It's not extremely graphic, but reader discretion is advised.

Chapter 5 A Cold Wind Blows

"Jin! Touya!"

They had almost made it back to the hotel when someone called their names. Touya watched the two demons approaching them warily, but Jin's face broke into a huge grin when he saw them.

"Chu! Rinku! Hey!" he said, moving forward to meet them.

_I didn't realize he knew them,_ Touya thought. _When did he…?_ Then he remembered Kurama mentioning something about Rinku coming to find him after Touya had been poisoned. _I'll have to ask Jin how that happened later._

He approached the group slowly, being cautious as always. True, Jin appeared to trust them, but until he had more information about them, Touya would play it safe. He had never met Chu or Rinku, though he had certainly heard quite a bit about them, especially Chu. He had been the one who'd had an unusual fight with Yusuke Urameshi and narrowly lost. Jin had been so excited when he heard about the knife edge death match and had sincerely hoped he'd be able to fight Urameshi himself.

"Hey there!" Chu said, giving him a friendly wave.

"Hello," Touya said softly.

He always hated meeting new people and having to socialize; he never knew what to say.

"Are you feeling better?" Rinku asked.

Touya looked at the small demon partially hidden behind Chu's legs and gave him a gentle smile. "Yes. I'm feeling much better. Thank you."

"We're glad to see you're doin' all right there," Chu added. "You had us real worried."

Touya stared at the pair of demons in surprise. He had never met fellow demons aside from Jin who had so much compassion for other demons. He couldn't help being suspicious of them and any ulterior motives they might have had, but there was something about them that made Touya want to trust them.

"We were gonna get something to eat. You guys wanna come with?" Chu's voice broke Touya out of his musings.

"Touya?" Jin murmured, glancing at him.

Touya hesitated for a moment, torn. On the one hand, he hated socializing, preferring solitude, and he wasn't entirely sure he could trust Chu and Rinku. On the other hand, it would be rude to refuse the invitation, and these two demons were most likely responsible in part for saving his life.

"That sounds lovely," he said.

"Great!" Chu beamed and Touya couldn't help smiling; his enthusiasm reminded him of Jin.

"Let's go! I'm starving!" Jin said.

"Hey, you guys mind if we take a quick detour to the stadium?" Chu asked. "I wanna see how Urameshi's team is doin'."

"Oh right, they're fighting Uraotogi today aren't they?" Jin said.

"Yeah," Chu said.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Touya said. "They're a strong bunch of fighters. However, it won't hurt to have a look."

They set off away from the hotel. Jin and Chu struck up a conversation, immediately becoming the best of friends. Touya hung back a bit, observing, as he usually did. Chu was like Jin in many ways, loud, boisterous, overly enthusiastic, but a decent person underneath. Rinku said little, though he did contribute to the conversation from time to time, and Chu always made sure he was included when he wanted to be. It was an interesting dynamic they shared, Touya mused, as they made their way onto the stadium grounds.

"Hey, isn't that Urameshi?" Chu suddenly said.

"Where?" Jin asked.

"Sleeping in that girl's lap under that tree," Chu said, pointing.

So it was. Touya frowned.

_Why is he sleeping under a tree with his girlfriend? _He wondered. _Shouldn't he be helping his team fight to get into the finals?_

"Uh oh," Chu muttered.

A trio of demons advanced on Urameshi and the girl.

"Split up," Chu said, immediately taking on the role of leader. "Rinku and I will go around and get behind Urameshi and his girl and you guys sneak up behind the demons. If it comes down to a fight, I can put myself between Urameshi and the girl."

Before either Jin or Touya could agree to the plan, Chu and Rinku were off into the trees with a surprising amount of stealth.

_Hopefully it won't come to a fight, _Touya thought as he and Jin slowly advanced on the demons. _I don't think I'm even capable of freezing a puddle right now and hand to hand combat is not my strength._

These demons did not look like they would be easy foes; one looked like a bear, a monkey, and a human had a threesome and somehow all contributed their DNA to their child, the second looked like a cross between a fish and a pig who hadn't seen sunlight in several centuries, and the third was some sort of lizard demon with his hair cut like a friar. Fortunately, they didn't seem to be very bright; they didn't even notice Chu and Rinku right in front of them until one of Rinku's yo-yos caught the largest demon in the cheek, sending him sprawling into unconsciousness. The demons gasped and looked around for the source.

"I…it's Rinku! And Chu as well!" The lizard friar stammered when he caught sight of Chu and Rinku.

The two remaining demons screamed at the sight of them and turned around, only to come face to face with Jin and Touya.

"Am I hallucinating, or is that Jin and Touya too?" the lizard friar said.

_Nope, we're real,_ Touya thought.

The two demons glanced between the two pairs of demons several times before deciding they did not want to try and take them on, grabbed their fallen friend, and darted off with surprising speed considering they were carrying an enormous unconscious demon between them.

With the threat over, Touya turned his attention to the pair on the grass. He had only seen Urameshi from a distance briefly and he had never seen a female human before. He studied her curiously, though how the females differed from the males was a complete mystery to him. She did seem to have a higher pitched voice and there were some subtle differences in her physical characteristics, but that was all he noticed from a brief observation as she talked with Chu and Rinku.

"Um, didn't Yusuke's team beat you guys? Why are you helping us?" the girl asked.

Chu crouched down in front of the pair. "Nah love, your boy did all right by me and I don't forget."

_And not all demons are uncivilized,_ Touya added silently. _Urameshi and the rest of his team fought fairly and won. We have no right to be angry about that. If anything, they should be angry at us for all the underhanded tactics our team pulled._

"What's up?" Rinku's voice interrupted Touya's thoughts.

Chu was still crouched in front of Urameshi and his girlfriend, studying Urameshi with a frown. "Why, he seems to have gotten a mite stronger."

"A mite? How much is a mite?" Rinku asked.

Jin and Touya glanced at each other and then made their way forward. They moved cautiously, not wanting to overwhelm the girl, but their caution was unnecessary; the girl gave them a friendly smile when they approached. Touya ignored the bickering between Chu and Rinku and focused on Urameshi. There was something different about it and it wasn't the fact that he was now covered in bruises, scratches, and dirt. He had grown stronger, his spirit energy vastly different, though Touya had no idea how or what it meant.

"Look at him passed out," Chu said, smiling fondly at Urameshi. "He looks just like a sleeping junior high kid."

He gave Urameshi's nose a light flick.

"Ow Keiko, that hurt. You lousy…" Urameshi muttered.

Keiko blushed. "Uh Yusuke…?"

"Stop treating me like a baby all the time. I'm not a kid any…more," Urameshi said clearly.

All of them stared at Urameshi who was still sound asleep and then Chu burst into loud laughter.

"He is so whipped!" Rinku said with a huge grin.

"I see you've domesticated our mate nice and fine, missy. We'll leave you two alone to keep on having your naughty," Chu said.

Keiko gasped, her blush deepening. "Why is that all anyone thinks a boy and a girl can do when they're alone?!"

_Well, he __**is**__ a teenage boy, _Touya thought.

He and the others joined in laughing.

"Come on mates, I'm starving!" Chu said loudly. "See ya later, sweetheart. We're trusting you to keep our boy safe, ya hear?"

Keiko smiled gently down at Urameshi's sleeping form. "I will. I promise."

They left the pair in peace. They walked back to the hotel and found a table at the restaurant that specifically catered to demons. A pretty young female demon in tight clothing came over and handed them some menus. Touya frowned as he perused the menu; it seemed to be geared towards demons who had monstrous appetites. He was thankful at least, that the restaurant didn't serve demons who ate people. He didn't really want to think about how they fed.

They put in their orders while the waitress flirted shamelessly with them. Touya just ignored her. When she finally left them alone, they sat quietly for a while.

"So," Chu said, leaning forward in his seat. "Have you boys thought about what you're gonna do for the rest of the tournament?"

Jin shook his head. "We don't really know what's goin' on right now. Besides us, it looks like only Risho is still alive and neither of us have seen him since the end of our fight." His face darkened. "Not that we really care what happens to that piece of trash."

Touya put a gentle hand on Jin's arm. "Peace, Jin. He is still our leader, no matter what he's done." He added so only Jin could hear, "Please be careful. We do not know who else may be listening and whether our words can get back to Risho or not."

"Right," Jin muttered. He turned to Chu and Rinku. "Did you two have something you wanna do?"

"We were gonna watch the finals and thought we'd see if you guys wanted to watch with us," Chu said. "It's gonna be the match of the century."

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Jin said enthusiastically. "What do you say, Touya?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Touya said.

In truth, he dreaded watching Kurama fight. It was not going to be easy to face any one of the members of Team Toguro and there was a good chance that Kurama was going to die. He didn't think he could bear watching Kurama die.

"Hey, you okay there, Touya?" Chu asked. "You're lookin' mighty serious."

"I'm fine," Touya said quietly. "I'm just thinking."

"There's a lot to think about," Jin said.

They ate their meal in silence and then parted ways.

"See you tomorrow!" Rinku said with a cheerful wave.

"Hey mates," Chu said in an undertone. "Think about my proposal, yeah?"

"We will," Jin said.

"See ya tomorrow then," Chu said.

"What proposal is he talking about?" Touya asked after Chu and Rinku were out of earshot.

"Oh!" Jin's face lit up. "That's right. I never told ya. Chu and Rinku offered to let us stay in one of their rooms. They've got plenty of extra now that they're the only ones of their team left."

"What did you say?" Touya asked.

"I told 'em we'd think about it," Jin said. "I didn't want to turn them down, especially if things with Risho get ugly."

"Do you really think things will get ugly?" Touya asked.

"Yes," Jin said bluntly. "He's not the type to take your defiance laying down."

"No, you're right," Touya said.

"So what do you wanna do?" Jin gazed intently at him.

"I…" Touya swallowed hard. "I don't know."

"Do you think you want to leave the Shinobi?" Jin asked.

Touya looked at him, aghast. "You know that's not an option."

"Why not?" Jin challenged. "Who says you have to stay?"

"I'm fairly sure Risho isn't going to allow it," Touya said.

"Who cares about that bastard?" Jin said darkly. "Touya, you need to decide for yourself what you want. No one else can dictate the path you choose."

"I…I need some time to think," Touya said.

"Yeah, of course, pal," Jin said. "I'll catch you later, then. I have some thinking of my own to do."

"All right," Touya said.

They parted ways. Touya wandered deeper into the forest to try and find a place to meditate. He settled himself on a large, flat boulder in the middle of a clearing, closed his eyes, and tried to clear his mind. Inevitably, he found it wandering and allowed it to this time, wanting to see where it went. He found himself thinking about Kurama. Where was he? What was he doing? How was he preparing for the finals? Did he feel any apprehension about what he would soon be facing? Would he be able to survive? Touya wasn't sure.

Kurama was cold, quick, and calculating in battle. He was able to think on his feet and at the same time, he never lost his cool. Even in the direst situations, he could remain calm, and that made him a deadly foe. And underestimating him was dangerous and that was why Touya had lost to him. But that would be enough against Team Toguro's brute strength?

And yet, in spite of all that, Kurama was capable of great compassion. He had spared Touya's life when he lay dying and had always treated him with nothing but respect and kindness, even though Touya had tried his hardest to kill him. He feared Kurama's compassion may be his undoing.

It seemed as though Touya had been wrong about Kurama. He wasn't as bad as Touya had first thought. There was a lot to admire about the red-haired demon.

Touya's eyes snapped open as he realized where his thoughts were straying. He shook his head. He could see where this was going. This couldn't be happening. He wouldn't let it.

He refused to fall in love with Kurama.

.o.O.o.

Touya stiffened when he felt a hand on his shoulder, but relaxed when he heard Jin's voice low in his ear, "Easy there, Touya. It's just me."

He opened his eyes and glared at Jin, annoyed to be interrupted during his meditation session. "What do you want?"

"It's nearly dinnertime," Jin said. "You've been out here meditating for nearly six hours."

"Really?" Touya blinked, surprised. "I didn't even notice."

Jin held out of his hand to Touya. "Come on," he said in a gentle tone. "Let's go back to the hotel."

Touya took Jin's hand and allowed him to pull him off his rock. He groaned; his entire body was stiff and sore from sitting in one position for so long. He frowned as Jin led him down the path.

"This isn't the way back to the hotel," he said.

"I know," Jin said bluntly. "I was hopin' we could talk."

There was something off about Jin's tone that made Touya wary.

"All right," he reluctantly agreed.

He remained silent as they walked, waiting for Jin to begin the conversation.

It wasn't until they were well into the forest that Jin said, "I hope that what is said here can be kept between the two of us."

Touya's suspicions were aroused at once. Whatever Jin wanted to talk about, it couldn't be good. Why else would he want to hold the conversation in the middle of the forest where it was likely no one would hear them and specifically ask for Touya's discretion? For a moment, Touya was torn between his friendship with Jin and his loyalty to the Shinobi. But then he remembered Risho's words and actions and decided to trust Jin, as risky as that might be.

"You have my word that I will keep this between us."

Jin grinned. "Thanks Touya. I knew I could count on you."

"What would you like to discuss?" Touya asked.

"Well…" Jin shifted nervously. "I was wonderin' if the Shinobi are really doin' the right thing."

Touya's initial response was to stare at his friend, hardly daring to believe what he was hearing. He had always known that Jin was rather opposed to some of the Shinobi's practices and sometimes even Touya had a hard time accepting some of the things they did, but he never dreamed that Jin would speak out against the Shinobi themselves. To do so was to ask for death.

Touya knew that the right thing to do was turn in this traitor and once upon a time, he probably would have done that.

But he couldn't betray Jin.

Jin was his friend, his brother. How could he ever think to betray him?

"I'm sorry," Jin said anxiously. "I shouldnta said anything."

"No," Touya said a little more sharply than he'd intended as Risho's words came back to him.

"_Spare me your romantic drivel, Touya." _

"_He fought for the light and now we're going to enjoy it."_

"_We must always keep our eyes on the final prize, Touya. That's why I am the leader and you are the grunt." _

Touya took a deep breath and he was amazed at how calm his voice was when he spoke. "I too am beginning to doubt the Shinobi are using. We were always taught that honor was important and yet several members were willing to throw that principle away in order to obtain victory. It seems wrong, but even Risho, who is supposed to be a leader and set an example fur us ignores the principles we've been taught."

"Yeah," Jin agreed. "I know. It doesn't make sense. So what are we going to do?"

"I don't know," Touya said. "It may just be an isolated incident with only a few rogue members, but at the same time I can't help but feeling it's not. Something just doesn't feel right."

"I feel it too," Jin said.

"That being said," Touya continued. "I don't know if there's anything we can do right now." Jin scowled. "I know, I don't like it either. When we return home, we can voice our concern to the Elders and perhaps they can do something about it."

"And what if they don't?" Jin asked, still scowling.

"I don't know," Touya said. He stepped forward and lightly touched Jin's arm. "Jin, please. We need to be careful. You know how dangerous things can be. I couldn't bear it if you got hurt."

Jaw firmly clenched, Jin nodded. Touya leaned against him in relief. After a while, they continued their journey back to the hotel. Neither of them spoke as they made their way up to their room. Jin unlocked the door, but hesitated with his hand on the doorknob. He turned to Touya, his face suddenly full of anxiety.

"You gonna be okay?" he asked.

"Y…yeah," Touya stammered.

His breath hitched as Jin turned the doorknob and pushed open the door. He exhaled shakily. Risho was not there. Jin looked visibly relieved at their leader's absence.

"He must be in the infirmary still," Touya murmured.

"Yeah," Jin said. They stood awkwardly for a few moments before he cleared his throat. "You uh…hungry? I can order us some food if you want."

Touya blinked. "Is that…allowed?"

"Who cares." Jin shrugged. "Risho isn't here to tell us what to do."

"We could get in so much trouble." Touya bit his lip in uncertainty.

"Oh, you've gotta live a little," Jin protested.

"All right," Touya finally relented.

Jin's face brightened. "Awesome! Lemme get the menu and we can see what we want."

He raced off. Touya watched him with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, all the tension from earlier dissipated. At last, Jin returned with the menu.

"Do you even know how to order room service?" Touya asked with his eyebrows raised.

"Well no, but I figure it can't be too hard, right?" Jin said.

Touya couldn't help rolling his eyes. Jin spread the menu out on the table. They peered at the lists of food.

"Uh Jin, you realize this is the human menu?" Touya said.

"So?" Jin said.

Touya sighed and looked at the menu again. He had a rudimentary knowledge of human food, as did Jin. They, along with the rest of their team had been given a crash course about the Human World before they left with everything their masters had thought they should know. Even so, Touya had no idea what half the foods on the list were. In the end, he just picked something at random, hoping he would like it.

Ordering the food was a different matter entirely. Touya braved the device the humans called a telephone to order their meal while Jin watched with great amusement.

"Yes. I'd like to order some food to be delivered," Touya said.

He tried to pronounce the names of the food the best he could, but he couldn't help wincing. He glared at Jin, who was laughing at him and the red-haired demon fell silent at once.

"Sorry about that," Touya muttered into the telephone. "Can I charge this to the room?" He would let their team owner deal with this later. "Yes. Room 333. Yes. Thank you." He hung up the telephone. "The food will be here in about fifteen minutes."

"Awesome!" Jin said brightly.

He stretched out on one of the couches and put his feet up over the edge. Touya rolled his eyes and sat primly on the edge of his armchair, waiting. He did not stir until there was a sharp knock on the door.

"I'll get it," he said, getting to his feet.

He didn't trust Jin around the humans. It wasn't that Jin wasn't friendly, it was that there was no guarantee that Jin would behave himself. Touya opened the door and smiled at the human woman standing outside with a cart.

"Good evening," he said pleasantly. "Please, come in."

The woman, who had been staring at Touya, nodded absently, and pushed the cart inside. Jin moved to get up from his seat, but Touya, sensing what he was about to do, turned to him, and rapidly shook his head. Scowling, Jin dropped back down onto the couch.

"We just leave the things outside when we have finished?" Touya turned back to the human woman who was already on her way out.

She stopped and turned around. "Yes."

Then, without another word, she left. As soon as the door clicked shut, Jin sprang up from the couch and dashed over to the cart. Touya rolled his eyes. He took the tops off the plates and stared down at all the food.

"Which is yours and which is mine?" Jin asked over Touya's shoulder.

"I have no idea." Touya shook his head.

"You know what we gotta do, right?" Jin asked.

"Of course," Touya said. "We each take a bit of each." He stared down at all the plates. "Just how much did you order?"

"Hey, I'm hungry!" Jin said defensively.

Touya snorted; Jin was always hungry. He carefully divided up the food. Jin sat on the couch and immediately dug in. Touya took his own plate to his armchair and sat with his plate on his lap. He glanced up at Jin, who was chowing down noisily and had to smile; Jin would eat pretty much anything. Then, he returned his gaze to his plate of food. At the very least, it smelled interesting. He took a smile bite. It was some sort of meat flavored with various herbs and spices Touya didn't recognize. It was very overpowering, though Touya supposed that it could be because his palate wasn't accustomed to such strong flavors. He took a couple bites of the other things on his plate, but couldn't finish any of it because it was too rich for him.

"Jin, do you want the rest of this?" he asked, holding up his place.

"Yeah, sure, Jin said absently, staring out the window.

Touya frowned; Jin normally wasn't so distracted. He got up from his chair and crossed the room to where Jin sat.

"Jin?" he asked softly. "What's wrong?"

Jin didn't turn away from the window. "The winds are changin'. It's not a good sign."

Touya glanced out the window. The winds had picked up dramatically, blowing the tops of the trees sideways. Dark clouds were rolling in, giving the sky an ominous feeling. Touya shivered; he could sense something was very wrong. He gasped when he sensed a massive surge of energy. He had never felt such raw power before. He looked at Jin, who looked equally stunned. They stared out the window, trying to figure out where the power was coming from.

"What are you doing?"

Touya's heart raced when he heard that voice. He closed his eyes and counted to ten, then turned around to face his leader.

"What do you want?" he said, trying to keep his voice level.

Risho's eyes narrowed. "You dare use that tone with me?"

"Yes, I do," Touya said. "You attacked me!"

There was a soft crackling sound as ice spread out from underneath Touya's feet. He exhaled softly. He hadn't actually meant to do that, but it wasn't a bad idea to have a way to defend himself.

"What is the meaning of this?" Risho demanded.

Touya ignored the question and stared up at his leader. "You attacked me," he repeated, softer. "Your own sect member."

"You were out of line," Risho said calmly. You needed to be punished for your disobedience."

"Disobedience?" Touya said.

"You questioned my authority and therefore the Shinobi." Risho's voice never lost its calm, cool tone. "Measures needed to be taken to ensure you remembered your place."

"My place?" Touya spat, disgusted. "So I'm nothing more than a servant, someone to obey you without question?"

"Obedience is essential to the Shinobi," Risho said. "Dissention creates chaos."

"We're nothing but pawns to you," Touya said, realization dawning. "Nothing but pieces on a board to be moved for the benefit of the few." Risho didn't say anything, but his satisfied smirk told Touya everything he needed to know. "The Elders will never approve!"

Risho smirked. "What makes you think they are unaware of what is going on?"

Touya's breath left him as he realized the horrifying truth. "How can you do this?" he whispered.

Risho stood calmly with his arms folded. "I am merely doing what is necessary for the good of the Shinobi and the Elders are in agreement with me. If you cannot accept it, then measures must be taken."

"Measures? What measures?"

It was the first time Jin had spoken and Touya was surprised he had taken so long to say anything. Had he known this whole time and that was why he'd brought it up in the forest? Touya shook his head. There were more pressing matters to attend to.

"What measures?" he repeated.

"That will be up to the Elders to decide once we return to the Shinobi," Risho said.

He unfolded his arms and stepped forward. Touya instinctively recoiled.

"Get away from me!" he yelled.

A wall of ice rose up between him and Risho. Before either he or Jin could react, Touya sprinted from the room, stifling a sob with his hand.

.o.O.o.

Kurama sighed and rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand. How had it gotten so late without him noticing? He really needed some rest before the finals began tomorrow. He would be of little help to his team if he was tired.

And he _was_ tired.

This tournament was not only taking a toll on him physically, but mentally as well. In truth, he wasn't sure how much longer he could last. He would try, though; he could not let his teammates down, especially now that they had made it this far.

All of Kurama's previous tiredness vanished when he reached his hallway and saw the figure sitting outside his door. At first, he didn't recognize who it was, but as he got closer, he saw that it belonged to Touya. He sat leaning against the wall with his knees pulled up to his chest making him look small and vulnerable.

"Touya?" Kurama asked softly, carefully approaching the Ice Demon.

Touya looked up from his intense scrutiny of the hallway carpet, though he did not say anything.

"Are you all right?" Kurama asked.

Touya stared up at him, his face difficult to read. "I'm…fine."

Something about the tone of his voice and his posture told Kurama he was lying.

"Would you like to come in?" he asked.

"Yes please," Touya said softly.

His movements were still stiff, Kurama noted, as he slowly got to his feet, though he was much improved. He unlocked his door and entered his hotel room, Touya following behind. Touya stood in the sitting area, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked so vulnerable and so sad.

"Touya," Kurama said softly, crossing the room to where Touya stood. "What's wrong? Why have you come?"

"I…I can't say why I'm here," Touya said, looking up at Kurama. "Something has drawn me to you. And I think you've felt it too."

Kurama opened his mouth to deny it, but found that he could not.

"I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow," Touya continued. "You could live, or you could die."

"Yes," Kurama said.

Touya unfolded his arms and walked over. Kurama's skin prickled having Touya so close to him. Their lips touched. Kurama pulled away first.

"Touya, we shouldn't," he said.

"Please," Touya whispered, clutching his arms tightly. "It's only tonight. That's all we have."

At last, Kurama relented. He could not say why, only that he felt a magnetic pull towards Touya, had felt it from the moment they had met. He bent his head and covered Touya's lips with his own.

They moved into the bedroom. Everything felt natural between them and they moved without hesitation. Clothes shed in a hurry, fingertips reaching out eagerly to explore. Touya cried out when their bodies came together, but urged Kurama on with a gentle smile and a kiss. Their fingers twined as they moved faster, harder.

Touya climaxed first with a low, choking moan. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes as his body spasmed, Kurama's name on his lips. With a moan, Kurama came, rocking hard against Touya and then collapsing on the bed next to him. He watched Touya sleep until he too was overcome by exhaustion and slept.


	6. Chapter 6 The End is the Beginning

Chapter 6 The End is the Beginning

Touya woke suddenly, though what had drawn him out of his slumber he could not say.

"What time is it?" he asked groggily.

"Just before dawn," a soft voice said.

Touya jerked up; he was expecting Jin to answer him and in his sleep induced haze, he couldn't place the voice. Then, memories came flooding back to him and he felt his cheeks grow warm. He was glad it was still dark; he was probably blushing and didn't want Kurama to see. He sank back against the pillows and ran his fingers through his hair. What had come over him seeking out Kurama like that? He wasn't some common whore seeking out quick pleasure. Gods above, he really made a fool of himself.

He closed his eyes and tried to banish the memories and go back to sleep, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. Finally, he gave up and crawled out of bed. He noiselessly crossed the room to stare out the window to watch the sunrise.

He watched until the sun had risen well above the trees, then turned back to his companion still in bed. Kurama sat up on his side, his head propped up by his hand. His green eyes surveyed Touya intently, though he didn't say anything.

_Beautiful eyes,_ Touya thought and then he shook his head. _I mustn't think like that. After all, who knows if he will live through the day. _

The thought made him sad, but he tried not to show it on his face as he crossed the room again.

"I must go," he said softly.

Kurama stared up at him, his face utterly calm. "Yes. It's after dawn. Soon I must make my final preparations and join my teammates."

Touya was quiet for a few moments, unsure of what to say. What could he say? They had shared a night together on a whim and now Kurama was likely going to his death while Touya would have to sit there and watch.

He decided the more prudent thing was to not say anything. He didn't want to say hollow words that would offend Kurama. So instead, he went about gathering his clothes scattered on the floor and dressed in silence. He was at the door with his hand on the doorknob when he turned around.

"Goodbye Kurama," he said, knowing this was likely the last words he would ever exchange with the red-haired demon.

"Farewell, Touya." Kurama's soft voice floated through the darkness.

Touya forced a calm expression on his face as he exited Kurama's bedroom. He faltered when he saw Yusuke Urameshi standing there, his arms crossed.

"So, doing a walk of shame are we?" Urameshi's face was serious but his tone was light.

Touya just stared blankly at the dark-haired boy; he had no idea what a walk of shame was.

"Ah, never mind," Urameshi said when he saw Touya's blank look. "It's a human thing."

"Right," Touya muttered.

He flinched when Urameshi put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Sorry," Touya said, refusing to meet Urameshi's gaze. "Habit."

"Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I'm not going to tell anyone about you and Kurama." Touya looked up at him now, surprise and confusion mingling on his face. "What goes on between you and Kurama isn't my business. I just hope you realize it can't work."

_Blunt as always, _Touya thought. _I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. _

"Yes, I am aware," he said gazing calmly up at Urameshi. "It was not my intention to seek Kurama out for some sort of long-term relationship. And he knew going into it that wasn't my intention."

"I don't doubt it," Urameshi said. "Kurama is a smart guy. As long as you aren't hurting him and he isn't hurting you, then I'm fine with…whatever it is you two having going on."

"I would never hurt him," Touya said with a bit of anger.

"I know." Urameshi smiled at him. "You're a decent guy, Touya. I trust you."

Then he turned around and knocked on Kurama's door. Touya took that as his cue to leave.

As he walked down the hallway, he heard Urameshi's voice, "Jesus, Kurama, you're lucky I was the one who came to get you. Can you imagine if it was Hiei who saw you and Touya…"

His voice faded as Touya reached the end of the hallway.

Touya took the stairs up to his hotel room. It was a long climb, but he didn't mind. Jin had made him take the human contraption known as an elevator on their first day on the island and Touya had sworn he would never take one again after that nightmarish ride. He slipped into the darkened room, breathing a soft sigh of relief when it was clear Risho was not there.

Touya had to smile when he opened the bedroom door and heard Jin's rumbling snores; some things never changed.

He made it all the way to the bathroom door with a fresh set of clothes when he heard Jin's voice from the bed. "Where were you?"

Touya froze, trying to come up with a lie.

"Uh…"

"Never mind," Jin said. "Yeh don't have to tell me if yeh don't wanna."

Relieved, Touya went into the bathroom. He glared at the shower in the corner. The first time he had tried to use it, he wasn't expecting to be blasted in the face with water hotter than anything he had ever experienced before. The second time hadn't been much better; he had managed to dodge the water, but it had taken him ages to figure out how to adjust the water to a tolerable temperature.

_I don't know if I'll ever get used to this human technology,_ he thought sourly as he prepared to do battle with the shower once more.

Nearly an hour later, he emerged from the bathroom sufficiently clean and dressed in clean clothes. He put his dirty clothes away and turned back to the bed, sighing when he saw that Jin was still in bed. He crossed the room to the bed and yanked the covers off the bed with a single fluid movement.

"You have five seconds to get out of bed before I turn you into an ice sculpture," he said.

To prove he wasn't bluffing, he closed his eyes. The temperature in the room dropped drastically. Jin yelped and then let out a long string of curses.

"Have you finished?" Touya asked, thoroughly unimpressed by the foul language spewing from Jin's mouth. "We're going to be late meeting Chu and Rinku."

He waited out in the sitting area. Ten minutes later, Jin came out, fully dressed.

"Ready?" Touya asked.

Jin nodded. "Let's go."

They walked down the hallway in silence. When they reached the elevators, Touya balked.

"Oh no. There's no way I'm riding in that thing again," he said.

"Aw, come on," Jin protested. "They're completely safe and much faster than the stairs."

"Absolutely not," Touya said, crossing his arms. "Feel free to take that metal deathtrap. I am staying safe and taking the stairs."

Before Jin could protest, Touya headed for the stairwell. He could have taken the stairs two at a time and arrived shortly after Jin, but he chose to take his time. Jin could wait.

"Yeh took yer time." Jin scowled at him as he exited the stairwell.

_Impatient as always,_ Touya thought.

"Not all of us are in a hurry to get places," he told the scowling Wind Master. "Some of us like to enjoy the journey."

"I thought you said we were going to be late meeting Chu and Rinku," Jin said.

"I said that so you would get out of bed," Touya said lightly.

"What…you…" Jin sputtered.

"If I hadn't, we probably would have been late, given how long it takes you to gain any sort of momentum," Touya said.

Jin growled under his breath. "Let's just go find Chu and Rinku."

Touya knew from experience that this was Jin's way of conceding the argument without actually conceding the argument.

It took them forty-five minutes to locate Chu and Rinku at a very obscure hotel bar and another fifteen minutes to pry the truth out of Rinku; Chu had traded their tickets for a couple of pints of beer. Jin launched into a tirade of curses aimed at Chu that dissolved into a loud verbal argument between the two of them. Touya stood back and watched as Rinku tried to mediate the argument. He didn't see who landed the first punch, but when the argument devolved into a fist fight, Touya had had enough.

"All right children, I think that's enough," he said.

Unsurprisingly, neither of them listened to him.

_Guess we'll have to do things the hard way, then,_ he thought.

He gestured with his hand and tendrils of ice crept across the floor and up Chu and Jin's legs. Neither of them noticed anything until they were completely immobilized by ice. They struggled and protested loudly, but they could not break free from the ice which continued to form around them until they were completely encased in it. Finally, they stopped struggling and settled on glaring at Touya instead.

"You two brought this upon yourselves by acting like a couple of children," Touya said calmly. "Instead of blaming and arguing with each other, perhaps we should come up with a solution to our problem."

"Fine," Jin muttered.

"All right," Chu said.

Touya gestured with his hand again and the ice encasing Jin and Chu cracked and then disappeared. They quickly agreed to head to the stadium to assess the situation.

"Nicely handled," Rinku said in an undertone as they walked.

"Thank you," Touya said. "I've had a lot of practice diffusing situations like that with Jin."

"I bet," Rinku said.

Unsurprisingly, the tickets were all sold out, not that any of them really had money to spend anyway. The only other option they had was to force their way in. They huddled together away from the stadium compiling the information they had gathered. There were only a handful of entries into the stadium and each entry was guarded by an usher. The only choice they had was to force their way past one of the ushers; they did not have time to try and search for a secret way in.

"I think I know which usher we can charge," Chu said. "There's this fat bloke who looks like he won't be much of a challenge."

"All right," Jin said. "We'd better hurry. Otherwise the tournament will be over before we even get there!"

Chu led the way around the stadium to a lesser gate. The crowd had thinned out considerably and only a handful of demons milled around. The entrance was guarded by a single usher sitting in a folding chair that creaked underneath his massive bulk. His beady eyes darted around and sweat trickled down his neck.

"Ah yeah, this'll be easy," Chu said gleefully. "You blokes stay here. I'll be right back."

Without waiting for confirmation from the others, he stalked off. The fight barely lasted a minute and did not end well for the usher. Chu gave him one last hard smack to ensure he remained unconscious for a while and then beckoned the others forward. They jogged through the dark tunnels and then emerged in the daylight at the top of the stadium. They stood at the rail, trying to make sense of the scene in front of them. Toguro and Urameshi stood in the center of the ring, staring each other down.

"Aw man, did we miss all the fights?" Rinku asked.

"If we did, we all know who's to blame for that," Jin said darkly, scowling at Chu.

Touya tuned them out as they started bickering again and scanned the field on Team Urameshi's side, his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

_Please, please let him be okay,_ he thought.

He could not bear the alternative. He exhaled softly when he saw Kurama's unmistakable red hair. He looked like he had suffered grave injuries, but he was still alive and standing on his own. Touya felt his eyes flood with tears and forced them back. Where on earth were these ridiculous feelings coming from? He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on," Jin said softly in his ear. "Let's go find some seats."

His throat constricted, Touya merely nodded. He followed Jin, Chu, and Rinku down the stairs. Demons stared and whispered as they passed and a whole group got up and fled in fear when Chu looked at them.

"Ah, here's some!" Chu said brightly.

They settled into their seats. The tension in the air was thick as Toguro and Urameshi continued to regard each other.

"This time's for real," Juri said. "Are you guys ready?" Neither Toguro nor Urameshi made any indication that they had heard her question. Juri seemed to take their silence as a yes. "Okay then, begin!"

The audience burst out into deafening cheers, making it impossible for Touya to hear any of the words exchanged between Urameshi and Toguro. He couldn't really read their lips either. Frustrated, Touya leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms.

For a while, it seemed like nothing was happening. Then, Toguro's muscles expanded and his body grew larger. His primal yells rose above the din of the audience and Touya felt chilled. Urameshi took several steps back, which was probably a good idea; a strange aura was emanating from Toguro's body. All around them, demons began melting, just from being exposed to Toguro's demon energy. Their horrible screams filled the stadium and Touya wrapped his arms around himself. He tried to block the sound of thousands of demons dying and focus on the fight.

Toguro had finally finished powering up and now towered over Urameshi. He walked toward Urameshi slowly. Urameshi shifted his position and then unexpectedly charged forward. He swung around with his fist, aiming for Toguro's stomach while Toguro swung upward towards Urameshi's jaw. Both punches landed solidly, but only Urameshi seemed to be affected. He went sliding backward, somehow keeping his balance, and then launched himself forward again.

Toguro dodged his next punch and countered with a punch of his own that Urameshi managed to dodge in midair and landed a kick to Toguro's face. Toguro's fist came in contact with the ring instead and bits of concrete crumbled to dust. Urameshi landed a short distance away, Toguro swung his arm around and his energy caused more of the ring to crumble. Urameshi jumped out of the way, though not fast enough; bits of rock grazed his cheek. Toguro's energy continued in a straight line until it reached the wall that separated the crowd from the fighters. It deflected upward, but the wall could not withstand the force, and it crumbled. Toguro charged toward Urameshi, displaying a surprising amount of speed for one so large. This time, Urameshi stood his ground.

_Idiot! _Touya cursed silently. _Does he actually think he'll be able to block a blow from Toguro?_

Toguro suddenly stopped, his fist inches away from Urameshi. He lowered his fist and said something Touya couldn't hear. Urameshi responded, dropping his hands. Touya silently cursed that Chu had chosen seats so far away; he couldn't hear a word exchanged between Urameshi and Toguro.

"Whoa," Koto said in awe. "Now Toguro has stopped mid-punch to chat with Urameshi. I wish you could hear what they were chatting about."

_Oh sure, rub it in,_ Touya thought sourly as Urameshi and Toguro went back to staring each other down.

"I don't think Toguro has ever revealed the true extent of his powers," he murmured. "Though I'd venture it would dwarf any one of his opponents in comparison."

"Maybe," Jin said, crossing his arms. "But then again, there's also Yusuke's Spirit Wave to toss up into the wind. And let me tell ya, that's nothin' to shake a stick sideways at."

"What both of youse is failin' to see is that Yusuke's a good bit stronger now than he was when he fought against us," Chu said.

"Perhaps he has a chance," Touya murmured.

Urameshi and Toguro continued to stare each other down, neither of them saying a word.

"Uh…are you okay?" Juri timidly asked Toguro. She received no response. She turned to Urameshi. "And you?"

Urameshi did not respond either.

The glare he gave Toguro was formidable. He grasped his right wrist with his left hand, his index finger pointed toward the ground.

"Following an action-packed beginning, what we have here is a good old-fashioned standoff," Koto commented. "But now it seems that Yusuke's focusing his energy into that trusty right index finger."

Urameshi raised his hands as a bright blue ball of energy began to materialize. Toguro held out his hands in anticipation.

"Again, he resorts to his reliable Spirit Gun," Touya sighed.

Chu frowned. "Mates, did it always glow this brightly before?"

Jin's ears twitched with anticipation. Urameshi unexpectedly dropped his arm and charged forward. He punched Toguro repeatedly in the stomach, though that seemed to do little except give Toguro a massage. Toguro seemed to get annoyed because he swung around with his fist, causing more of the ring to crumble. Urameshi dodged the blow and landed a kick to Toguro's face. Not only did it barely have an effect on Toguro, his sunglasses remained intact.

_Those are some pretty strong sunglasses, _Touya thought as Toguro destroyed another chunk of the ring.

Toguro aimed another punch for Urameshi, who barely managed to dodge it. His fist came in contact with the ring again, but this time, the entire ring exploded. Touya, Jin, Chu, and Rinku had to cover their heads as they were showered with bits of rubble.

Touya's eyes stung from the dust of pulverized concrete and it entered his nose and mouth, burning his lungs. He coughed and had to squint to see what was going on. Urameshi appeared behind Toguro hanging upside down in midair among large chunks of concrete that had not been immediately destroyed by Toguro's energy, his glowing index finger pointed directly at Toguro. The blast that ensued was more powerful than Touya ever could have imagined. Toguro was blown clear across the stadium, through the wall, never mind that it was made out of solid concrete, and still managed to keep going, plowing through massive trees that probably had been there for centuries.

And in the aftermath, there was only silence.


	7. Chapter 7 The Rest is Silence

Chapter 7 The Rest is Silence

Touya tried to breathe as he stared at the unimaginable sight in front of him. The ring had been completely obliterated and large chunks of concrete littered the ground. There was a massive hole in one side of the stadium and beyond it was a devastating scene of burned trees.

"Wow, now that's an attack you remember," Rinku said.

"Aye, I'm so happy I got beat by Urameshi before he got his superpowers," Jin said.

"I can see now that I underestimated him," Touya murmured.

Something didn't feel right, though. Toguro had not even bothered to block Urameshi's attack. Urameshi walked over to the hole Toguro had created in the stadium wall, as serious as ever. Touya gasped; from within the blazing inferno that had been created by Urameshi's Spirit Gun emerged Toguro. His pants had been ripped and his sunglasses were gone, revealing a piercing gaze that made Touya shudder.

Toguro powered up and shot his aura at Urameshi, blowing through Urameshi's hastily erected barrier with ease.

_This is very bad,_ Touya thought. _What can Urameshi do? What can anyone do?_

Urameshi did not look worried at all. He wiped the blood from a cut on his cheek, smiling. He ripped off his left wristband to reveal what looked like a glowing gold bracelet. Touya immediately recognized it for what it really was.

_Spirit Cuffs?_ He wondered as Urameshi ripped off his other wristband to reveal another Spirit Cuff. _Why would he be using such a handicap?_

Urameshi closed his eyes and seemed to be lost in his memories. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and shouted what Touya assumed was the release word. There was a huge surge of spirit energy that took the form of a phoenix. Its piercing, mournful cry filled the stadium as it made a lap around and then returned to Urameshi.

"His power is phenomenal," Touya breathed.

"Agreed, so I'd say. When your wind looks like a phoenix you know you've got something big," Jin agreed.

The fight seemed to be on a whole new level. Touya could barely keep track of what was going on. Toguro was blasted into a crater only to emerge unscathed, his calm expression never wavering. But something was wrong.

"His muscles deflated. What the hell's with that? There are many crazy things I've seen, but this one takes the cake," Jin said.

"Urameshi's attack was powerful. Perhaps this is what happens when Toguro is injured," Touya mused.

He couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen and it made his stomach churn unpleasantly.

Toguro's skin began to crackle and transform. The earth beneath them rumbled. Toguro's aura exploded out of his body and shot around the stadium, decimating those in its path. A blast headed for their group. They separated, Jin and Touya leaping right and Chu and Rinku leaping left. The demons sitting around where they used to be were obliterated. Touya stumbled slightly when he landed, held up by Jin's strong arms.

"Yeh okay?" Jin asked worriedly.

"F…fine," Touya lied.

The sky turned completely dark. Touya clung to Jin to reassure himself that his friend was still there.

Then, the sky returned to normal and there stood Toguro. Touya shivered. It was hard to believe that the monster standing there was once human. Touya could barely even look at him without feeling ill. Toguro's muscles had expanded even further than before. His skin had turned a sickly grey color and weird funnels had appeared on his shoulders.

Toguro walked forward. With a single flick of his thumb, he sent Urameshi flying backward. Urameshi slowly got to his feet. Toguro started flicking what Touya could only assume were invisible bullets at Urameshi at lightning fast speed. Urameshi had to move at the same speed to keep himself from being hit. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He did not appear to be injured as he rushed at Toguro, but neither his Spirit Wave nor his Spirit Gun had any effect. With astonishing ease, Toguro batted Urameshi up to the third level. While Urameshi was trying to recover from that, the funnels on Toguro's shoulders opened and he started feeding on the souls of the audience. Touya closed his eyes as their horrified screams echoed through the stadium, his own strength draining away.

"Touya!" Jin cried, alarmed, as he felt Touya sag. "Are yeh okay?" Touya shook his head. "What's wrong?"

But Touya could not answer. Jin scooped him up in his arms and flew over to where Kurama stood with Hiei, Kuwabara, and Koenma.

"Jin?" Kurama said, hurrying forward to meet them. "What's wrong?"

"It's Touya," Jin said urgently. "He's not doin' so great."

"Easy," Kurama said in a soothing voice. "Let's lay him on the ground where he'll be more comfortable."

Jin carefully lowered Touya to the ground.

"I think he overexerted himself when he stood up to Risho last night," he said.

Kurama gave him a sharp look, but didn't say anything. He put a hand on Touya's forehead. "He's slightly feverish."

Touya slowly opened his eyes. "I…feel so weak." His voice was barely above a whisper. "Toguro is draining the little strength I have."

"I know," Kurama said gently. "You must hang on."

"I…I don't know if I can," Touya murmured. "I don't know how much more of this I can take."

"Now doan say that," Jin said anxiously, brushing Touya's bangs out of his eyes. "Yer gonna be all right."

Touya looked up at him, his eyes glazed with pain. "Jin…I'm sorry. Fighting Risho last night took more out of me than I expected. I just don't have the strength to resist Toguro any longer."

He closed his eyes. Then, it stopped. He no longer felt the pull from Toguro's demon energy. A few moments passed and then he dared to open his eyes. Jin and Kurama's fuzzy faces came into focus.

"I'm all right," he assured them.

It was only a half-truth; he was still very weak and he probably wouldn't last long if Toguro started feeding again, but they were already worried enough. He stared at the sky, struggling to stay conscious, and only half listened to the fight at this point.

Through the haze, he heard Toguro growl, "You're not fighting hard enough. Maybe I need to kill one of your friends for you to get the message."

Touya struggled to sit up so he could get a better idea of what was going on.

"Easy there," Jin murmured, moving behind him to give him a bit of support.

Toguro marched towards their group. Jin wrapped his arms around Touya. Kurama moved to stand in front of them, blocking their view.

"How about you, Kuwabara?" Toguro said. "Urameshi does appear to be the most protective of you. Let's see you bring out his hidden emotions. I'll make this quick."

"Stop it Toguro!" Urameshi screamed.

Touya had never heard him sound so desperate before. It appeared that Toguro had chosen correctly. If he wanted to unlock whatever hidden power Urameshi had, attacking Kuwabara would certainly do that. Kurama shifted his position, ready to defend Touya and Jin.

"Stand back, guys," Kuwabara suddenly said in a harsh tone. "I'm the one he wants."

Kurama turned towards him. "Just stop and think, Kuwabara."

"It's no time for your showmanship," Hiei added. "Face Toguro alone and you'll die before the moment is through."

_Wow, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that he's actually expressing concern for Kuwabara,_ Touya thought. _I never thought I'd see the day where the great Hiei cared about someone else._

"Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed?!" Hiei demanded.

Touya heard him inhale sharply as he realized.

_Yes, that's right,_ Touya thought. _He's going to let Toguro kill him to awaken the power within Urameshi. It's cruel, but right now, it seems to be the only option._

He closed his eyes as he heard Kuwabara charge Toguro, even though Kurama still blocked his view. He could feel Jin trembling as the two of them clung to each other. He couldn't say why Kuwabara's death affected him so; he had barely known him. And yet he grieved with the rest of Team Urameshi for their loss.

Kurama sprinted towards Kuwabara, catching him as he fell. "Hold on now, Kuwabara. Just stay with us. Kuwabara…stay…with us." His shoulders shook.

Even worse was Urameshi's horrified scream.

"That's oddly anticlimactic," Toguro said. "You knew him for so long and now he's dead. Do you think that was sufficient for you? Or do I need to kill another one of your friends before you get the point?"

Urameshi slowly rose and vanished, reappearing behind Toguro.

"You took my teacher," he said softly. "And now I let you take my friend. What the hell do you want from me?"

A strange aura surrounded his body. It expanded and swirled around, filling the entire stadium. Suddenly, Touya could feel Urameshi's emotions. He closed his eyes, letting them wash over him. There was a profound, deep sorrow and endless guilt. Tears trickled down his face and froze there.

"It's somewhat of a melancholy wind," Jin murmured in his ear. "Like I can feel the sad on his inner sides pourin' out into a big black empty."

"Yeah," Touya murmured; he felt it too. "Urameshi is locked in a struggle with his own emotions. His sense of guilt is reversing his power. His defense goes outward, guarding those of us who are left in the stadium while his attack focuses solely on himself."

"Are you hurting Yusuke? Feeling guilty?" Toguro taunted. "Don't worry. It's like the chicken pox; once you get it once, it won't come back. Think, Yusuke. What do you owe these people? Why do you let their weakness bring you down? Throw off the bags of guilt and you can become as powerful as me. Give yourself control! Believe in nothing but your own strength and it will never let you down."

He let out a deep laugh that made Touya shiver.

"Shut up, Toguro," Urameshi growled. "I'm not like you. I won't just throw people away."

"Can't let go?" Toguro asked.

"I never would have gotten this far without them," Urameshi answered. "And whenever I was getting my head rearranged, it was always because of them that I could pull through."

"And that's precisely the reason why you've been limited up until now," Toguro growled. "You're too soft! You don't need anybody but yourself!"

_I thought that way too, once,_ Touya thought. _But then I met Jin and realized that relying on someone else isn't so bad. It can make you stronger. _

Toguro chuckled softly. "Guess I need to kill another one of your friends."

Touya felt a wave of horror pass over him as Toguro turned toward them. Jin pulled Touya closer to him as Toguro began to walk in their direction. Then, he stopped. When he turned around, he saw that Urameshi was holding onto his gigantic wrist.

"Let go," he commanded.

"I…somewhere inside of me, I respected you, you know that," Urameshi said quietly. "Let's just say that I haven't had many older guys to look up to. What you seemed to have going…it didn't look so bad." The ground cracked under their feet. "Genkai told me over and over again how stupid I was, but I saw your strength and how no one could boss you around no matter what, and I wanted that."

"Then you should take my advice," Toguro said.

"Idiot! I'm not done!" Urameshi's eyes flashed angrily. "That's what I _did_ want. Until Genkai told me the rest and everything you gave up. Since I started this whole thing, I've learned the value of what you gave up. And I won't let it go! Even if I have to give up my life!"

His grip on Toguro's wrist tightened. Spirit energy surround his body and the earth shook. All around them, rocks were reduced to pebbles.

"I can see you're a disciple of Genkai's in every way," Toguro chuckled. "A slave to your softer emotions."

Urameshi glared at Toguro. "You shouldn't even be allowed to say her name. Today you die, Toguro!"

Toguro scoffed. "You go ahead and try!"

Urameshi moved so fast, Touya had no idea what was going on until Toguro went tumbling head over heels across the entire stadium, coming to a halt just before the wall. Touya barely had time to blink before Urameshi followed up his punch with a massive Sprit Gun that sent Toguro into the stadium wall.

"Get on your feet," Urameshi snapped. "I'm firing one last shot with all I've got and it's gonna end this fight one way…or another. So no more stupid surprises or fakes. You show me everything you've got right now." He pointed at the kneeling Toguro. "If I win this time, I don't ever want to see you back up."

With a menacing chuckle, Toguro got to his feet. He realigned his broken neck with ease. The crackling sound his bones made as they went back into place made Touya sick to his stomach.

_After all that, he still appears to be completely unharmed,_ Touya thought. _Is there anything that can damage him?_

"I admit I haven't been completely truthful," Toguro said. "What I said was one hundred percent was more like eighty-five."

_Oh gods no,_ Touya thought in horror. _Please, no. I cannot endure another transformation. _

Jin seemed to agree; his grip on Touya tightened and he bowed his head. Touya closed his eyes and waited.

But nothing happened.

Touya let out a shaky breath and then after a few moments, dared to open his eyes. Toguro's form had become even more monstrous, so he had indeed undergone another transformation, but it didn't require another sacrifice from the audience.

Toguro chuckled. "To fully become a master of a trade, you must commit your all to it and throw everything else away." He pointed at Urameshi. "If you don't have the guts to do that, you will never be more than a groundling."

Urameshi scoffed. "Damn, you're stupid. You didn't throw it away. You just ran away from it. Like a frightened little child."

_Not sure if you should taunt Toguro like that,_ Touya thought.

Urameshi grabbed his right wrist with his left hand and began channeling his Spirit Energy. "I won't run. And I won't let go!" He pointed at Toguro. "I'm doing just what you said, Genkai. I'm caring about you jerks. All the way."

_He's putting everything he has into it,_ Touya realized, watching Urameshi's Spirit Gun grow larger and larger. He glanced at Toguro. _And Toguro will resist the attack with all his strength. Whatever happens, this is the end. _

Urameshi fired his massive Spirit Gun and Toguro ran to meet it head on. Toguro seemed to hold onto it at first, then it seemed like he was slipping, but then he squeezed it until it vanished. Urameshi fell to his knees, all his energy spent, staring up at Toguro in horror before he passed out. Toguro walked forward, his skin sizzling from Urameshi's attack. The stadium was dead silent, everyone silently wondering what would happen now that Toguro had won. Toguro stopped several feet away and stared down at the unconscious teenager, a smile on his lips.

"Thank you. It was…the only way," he murmured.

Cracks formed in his skin and it shattered. He collapsed, his body turning to stone. He was dead.

"That's…hard to call," Koto commented.

Juri tentatively stepped out from her hiding place behind a large rock and walked toward Toguro. She looked rather nervous to be so close to Toguro's remains, not that Touya blamed her. A sudden movement caught Touya's attention. His eyes widened and then he smiled as Urameshi slowly picked himself up off the stadium floor.

"Juri, behind you!" Koto called.

Juri turned and gasped when she saw Urameshi on his feet.

"Winner of the Dark Tournament, Team Urameshi!"


	8. Chapter 8 The Only One

Warning: this chapter contains content that may be triggering. Reader discretion is advised.

Chapter 8 The Only One

Touya didn't remember much after Team Urameshi was declared the winner. He sagged in Jin's arms, his energy spent. He heard Jin and Kurama speaking in low voices, Jin's tinged with panic, Kurama's ever calm, though his brain was too foggy to process what they were saying. He vaguely remembered something about Kuwabara still being alive and the stadium collapsing, though later he would wonder if his delirious brain had imagined these events to cope with the chaos it was experiencing.

He remembered Jin speaking to him reassuringly, though he couldn't remember exactly what he said and he remembered being carried somewhere. The last thing he remembered was a cool hand on his forehead and then nothing.

.o.O.o.

It was dark when he woke next and he didn't recognize his surroundings.

"Jin…?" he called out weakly.

"He went out on an errand."

The cold voice made Touya's skin prickle. A light snapped on and Touya was momentarily blinded. When his eyes adjusted, his heart raced; Risho stood at the end of his bed.

"You!" he gasped.

"Yes, me," Risho said calmly.

"What do you want?" Touya demanded.

"You," Risho said, walking around to the side of the bed.

The simple, straightforward answer caught Touya off guard. "M…me?"

Yes," Risho said. "You dare to defy me. Usually, that would anger me greatly, but for some reason, I'm intrigued by it." Risho reached out and gently touched Touya's cheek. Touya pulled away in disgust. "You see? That is exactly what I'm talking about. Every time I try and touch you, you pull away. I try and open your heart and you cover it with another layer of ice. Why is that?"

Touya didn't answer. Risho took hold of Touya's chin and tilted it so their eyes were equal.

"Open your heart to me, I implore you," he said. "Let me see who you really are." Touya twisted his head around to break free of Risho's grasp. "Hm, is that a no?" Touya glared at him. "You have such a wild spirit, Touya. I wish to break you. I wish to make you mine."

"I belong to no one!" Touya hissed.

He desperately wished he was able to use his ice powers right now, but he knew there was no way. He was just too exhausted from everything that had happened, too overspent.

"You let Jin touch you," Risho said and Touya flinched. "Why not let me touch you? I can make you so good."

_I seriously doubt that,_ Touya thought.

Risho leaned in closer and Touya's heart raced.

"Get away from me!" he yelled.

Risho struck him across the face. His head slammed into the wall and he saw stars. Risho took advantage of that and pinned Touya down.

"Let me go. Please," Touya said.

Risho ignored him. "It seems that this may have been a bad idea."

"What do you mean?" Touya asked, momentarily distracted.

"I know you were speaking to that…that demon traitor," Risho said with contempt.

Touya felt a surge of anger. "So what?"

"He has corrupted you," Risho said.

"I am not being corrupted," Touya hissed.

Risho struck him again. "Silence! When we return, you are going to train even harder than before and live in seclusion until you learn."

"No." Touya was amazed at how calm he felt as he stared up at Risho.

Risho's face darkened. "What did you say?"

"You heard me," Touya said. "I am done with you and your lies. The light you promised us is a lie. Isn't it?"

"How dare you!" Risho snarled. His grip on Touya's wrists tightened until he whimpered. "I suppose I must teach you a lesson."

He slammed their lips together. Touya reacted purely out of instinct and bit down on Risho's lip as hard as he could. Risho recoiled, holding his lip. Touya felt a savage satisfaction to see him bleeding. He cried out when Risho struck him again.

"You little viper!" Risho hissed. He bound Touya's wrists with a strip of cloth he found and then leaned down. "I will make you mine."

"No, please!" Touya managed to whisper. "Don't."

Risho ignored him, kissing and biting his neck. Touya gasped as Risho's hand slid up the front of his shirt.

"I'm begging you, don't do this!" Touya cried as Risho's hand went down his pants.

"Be quiet!" Risho snapped.

Instead, Touya screamed, praying someone, anyone heard him. Risho pulled away from him and found some cloth to gag him. Touya's closed his eyes as Risho began removing his clothes.

_Jin, please,_ he thought, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

He screamed when Risho penetrated him. His eyes watered in pain, but he refused to let the tears out. He refused to cry.

Suddenly, he heard an angry bellow and someone unseen lifted Risho off Touya and slammed him into the wall. Touya jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"No, please," he whimpered, his words muffled by his gag.

"Shh, Touya," a gentle voice said in his ear. "I am not going to hurt you."

Touya dimly recognized the voice. "K…Kurama?"

"Hold on," Kurama said.

Touya felt his bonds loosen and the gag taken out of his mouth, but he didn't dare open his eyes. He rolled onto his side and vomited.

"Easy there," Kurama murmured, gently rubbing his back.

Touya curled in on himself, shame and horror welling up inside him. He had…Risho had…

He vomited again as the gravity of the situation came to him. His breathing came in short gasps as he tried to reel in his emotions. He would not cry, especially not in front of Kurama.

He tried to focus on what Kurama was telling him, "…going…room…examine…think you can walk?"

"Y…yeah," Touya managed to get out.

He finally opened his eyes. The room swam in and out of view for a few moments before finally remaining in focus. Kurama stood by the bed, grave concern reflecting in his green eyes.

"Here," he said, draping something over Touya's shoulders.

Touya recognized the item to be a blanket. He took a deep breath and pushed himself up slowly, wrapping the blanket around his body as he went. When he got into a kneeling position, he stopped and looked around the room. He was alone with Kurama in the bedroom he shared with Jin; Risho was nowhere in sight. He took another deep breath, slowly swung his legs around the side of the bed, and stood. His legs trembled and he collapsed to the floor.

Kurama was at his side at once. "Are you all right?"

Touya shook his head. "I don't…think I can walk."

He hated admitted his weakness, but Kurama offered no judgement. He looped his arms around Touya's body and lifted him into his arms. Touya buried his face in Kurama's shirt and closed his eyes as they started walking.

"Where we going?" he mumbled.

"I'm taking you to my room. I need to examine you," Kurama said.

"Risho…?" Touya asked.

"He won't hurt you again," Kurama said, a hard edge to his voice.

"What…?" Touya wondered.

"I don't know what happened to him. I left it to Jin to come up with suitable retribution," Kurama said.

"Mmm," Touya buried his face deeper in Kurama's shirt, the demon's scent soothing.

He was vaguely aware of a door opening. He was laid on a soft surface. He reluctantly opened his eyes as Kurama switched on an overhead light.

"Touya…" Kurama's voice was extremely gentle as he regarded Touya. "I'm afraid there are some uncomfortable questions I must ask you in order to properly treat you. I promise that whatever passes between us will be kept in confidence."

"Okay," Touya whispered.

"When Risho assaulted you, how far did he get?" Kurama asked.

"He…" Touya lowered his eyes.

"Touya, please," Kurama said. "I need to know. Did he penetrate you."

Touya couldn't bear to look Kurama in the eye as he nodded. "He p…penetrated me, but he d…didn't finish what he was d…doing."

"All right," Kurama said. "I would like to do a quick internal exam to make sure Risho didn't injure you when he penetrated you. I will try and be as gentle and quick as I can, but it will still be unpleasant."

Touya nodded.

Kurama arranged the pillows on the couch. "Here, lay against these. You may close your eyes or leave them open; I leave that choice to you."

Touya leaned back against the pillows and closed his eyes, focusing on Kurama's soothing voice. "Bring your knees up to your chest. Yes, like that. Hold on, let me shift the blanket a bit. There we go. All right, now ease your knees apart. That's right. Now, I want you to take a deep breath for me, Touya." Touya inhaled deeply. "Good. Now exhale slowly." Touya obeyed. "I'm going to put my fingers inside you. I'll be as brief as possible. Just keep breathing, all right?" Touya couldn't help whimpering softly when he felt Kurama's fingers gently probing inside him. "It's okay, Touya. Focus on your breathing. Inhale, exhale. You're doing great. I'm almost done."

Touya nearly cried with relief when Kurama removed his fingers. He waited a few moments and then opened his eyes.

"Everything looks fine," Kurama said, wiping his fingers off on a towel. "It appears that Risho did not injure you."

"Thank goodness," Touya murmured.

"I'm going to make you something to drink," Kurama said. "It will help ease any discomfort you may be feeling and it will help you calm down."

"You're leaving me alone?" Touya couldn't help the anxious spike his voice took.

"Of course not," Kurama said soothingly. "Chu and Rinku are standing guard outside. If you need anything, just call them and they will come."

"Do they know?" Touya asked.

"All they know is that Risho attacked you," Kurama said.

"What about Jin?"

Kurama's silence told him everything he needed to know. Touya resisted the urge to weep and instead after Kurama had left him, forced himself to sit up and look around. He wrapped his blanket tighter and willed himself to stop shaking, but his body betrayed him. He looked up as Kurama cautiously approached him carrying a teacup.

"Here, this should help," Kurama said, holding out the cup. He gave Touya a wry smile. "There are no sedatives this time, I promise, although if you would like a sedative, I'd be happy to give you one."

Touya shook his head. "That's not necessary. I'm fine."

"All right," Kurama said. "At least drink the tea."

Touya accepted the cup from Kurama and sniffed it. It seemed harmless enough, but he was still cautious as he took the first sip. It was sweet, though not overpowering, and it made him feel better.

He looked up at Kurama. "It's very nice. Thank you."

Kurama smiled at him. "You're welcome."

Touya flinched when someone knocked on the door, spilling tea all over the place.

"Sorry," he muttered, trying to mop up the mess.

"Here," Kurama said quietly, handing him towel.

While Touya cleaned up the tea, Kurama went to answer the door. Touya heard him speaking to someone in a low voice.

After a few moments, Kurama came back. "Touya, Koenma would like to speak with you, if you feel comfortable."

Touya frowned. _Koenma? What does the ruler of Spirit World want to speak to me for? I thought Spirit World didn't get involved in internal disputes like this._

"Yes, that's fine, but uh…could I put on some pants first?" he said.

Kurama looked at him in surprise and then seemed to realize that Touya had been sitting without pants.

"Yes, of course," he said, flushing a bit. "Why don't you wait in the bedroom while I have Jin fetch you a clean pair of pants?"

Touya nodded and slowly rose from the couch, making sure the blanket was secure around his body. He waited in the bedroom until there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Here you are," Kurama said softly when he opened the door, holding out a pair of Touya's pants. "Come out when you feel comfortable."

"Thank you," Touya said.

He closed the door and put the pants on. Then, he sat on the edge of bed, took a deep breath, counted to ten, and went out.

Kurama and another man sat in the sitting area, talking in low voices. When Kurama saw Touya approach, he halted the conversation abruptly and smiled though Touya could see it was strained.

"Ah, Touya. Come join us," he said.

Touya hesitated for a moment before sitting on the couch. He was careful to sit away from Kurama and then raised his eyes to study the ruler of Spirit World.

Koenma was youthful in appearance, but Touya recognized the look in his eyes as one who had lived a very long time. He was a surprisingly good-looking man; there were rumors that his father King Yama was an ogre of a man, though none could substantiate this claim. King Yama locked himself in his fortress and let his son run things. If Koenma's father was hideous, Koenma had not inherited his father's looks. He was slim and pale, with brown hair and brown eyes. It was clear from his stature and body type that he was a ruler, not a fighter, but Touya didn't find anything wrong with that; not everyone was fit to fight and not everyone was fit to rule.

Koenma cleared his throat. "As you know, Spirit World is not in the business of intervening in every little squabble between demons."

Touya thought this was more than just "a little squabble between demons", but held his tongue.

"That being said," Koenma continued, "I'm not about to turn a blind eye to an atrocity committed right under my nose. The question is, what can we do?"

"I…" Touya wrung his hands together as Kurama and Koenma turned to look at him. "I cannot return to the Shinobi."

"Leaving the Shinobi is not a decision to be made lightly," Koenma said.

"I know," Touya sad, staring calmly at the leader of the Spirit World. "It's something I have been contemplating for a while now, ever since my team lost to yours. But after everything that Risho has done, I…I cannot justify staying with them any longer."

"Very well," Koenma said.

Touya could see in his eyes that he knew it was a certain death sentence, just as Touya did.

_Risho didn't give me much of an option,_ Touya thought darkly. _Given the choice, though, I'd rather be dead than suffer frequent sexual assault from Risho._

"Koenma," Kurama said softly and Touya and Koenma both looked at the red-haired demon. "All three of us know that allowing Touya to return to Demon world is an immediate death sentence. Risho will have him assassinated the moment he steps foot there. However, there is one place he would be safe."

Koenma's eyes widened. "Are you suggesting…?"

"Yes," Kurama said. "He must hide himself in Living World."

Touya felt his breath leave him. Hide in Living World? Was that even possible? He didn't really like the idea of running and hiding, but when the other choice was death, he would take running and hiding any day. He looked up at Koenma, who frowned.

"Hmm. It's rare to allow a demon to immigrate to Living World, but I suppose I could arrange something," Koenma said slowly. He regarded Touya with a serious expression. "Are you absolutely sure about this? Once you leave, it's likely you will never see it again."

Touya gazed calmly at him. "I am."

He knew that his life with the Shinobi was over. The thought of having to leave Jin behind and possibly never see him again broke his heart, but what other choice did he have? Where this path would lead him he did not know, but he would find his way again, that he was sure of.


	9. Chapter 9 Ave Atque Vale

Author's Notes: I procrastinated hard on this one. I'm sorry. It's been a bit tough lately as everyone is aware, but things are getting better for me. I'm in a better headspace now and I've been working on this like a maniac. And it just keeps getting longer and longer…

Chapter 9 Ave Atque Vale

"Well?"

Touya's heart raced as he entered the room and heard that voice.

"I'm fine," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

He grunted when something warm and solid collided with him, but he closed his eyes and inhaled the familiar scent. He could feel Jin shaking and he knew he was shaking too, but he didn't care.

"I'm fine," he repeated even though he wasn't.

"Wha's gonna happen?" Jin asked. "Are yeh gonna leave?"

"I have to." Touya buried his face in Jin's chest so he didn't have to look him in the eye. "After what Risho did, I can't go back."

"Where will you go?" Jin asked.

"Koenma has granted me safe passage to Living World," Touya said.

Jin pulled away from Touya and stared at him. "Living World? Touya, if you go there, you might never be able to return to Demon World."

"I know." Touya didn't want to look up at Jin because he would weep. He had to keep it together. "The only alternative is death."

Jin sighed and pulled Touya close to him again. "I know," he whispered. "I jus' wish it didn't haveta come to this."

"So you're going to stay?" Touya asked.

"I doan have much of a choice, do I?" Jin said. "Leavin' the Shinobi is seen as a betrayal and the sentence for betrayal is death." He scowled as he repeated the words that had been drilled into both of them. "Besides, I want to find out if Risho's claims about the Elders is true."

"So you didn't know?" Touya asked.

That had been bothering him since their conversation in the forest. It had sounded like Jin was trying to test the waters to see how Touya felt about the Shinobi's practices and gauge just how loyal he was to them. And he'd been awfully quiet during the confrontation with Risho, as if he'd already knew what Risho was going to say.

"I swear to ya I didn't know," Jin said fiercely and Touya was inclined to believe him; it was not in Jin's character to like. "I had suspicions about the Shinobi and that's why I sought you out in the forest, to see if you noticed it to, but I swear I didn't know the whole truth."

"I believe you," Touya said. He looked up at Jin. "I trust you. Just…just be careful, okay? I couldn't bear to lose you."

"I will," Jin said.

The two of them stood silently, their arms wrapped around each other.

"Never thought we'd haveta say goodbye to each other like this," Jin murmured.

"Me either," Touya said.

Jin pulled back a bit and kissed him. Touya clutched at his face and parted his lips so he could taste Jin one last time.

Neither of them wanted to break the kiss, but a lack of oxygen forced them to.

"I'll see you again," Jin said, gently wiping the half-frozen tears from Touya's face with his thumbs. "I'll find a way. I promise."

Touya nodded, though he didn't know how Jin would be able to keep his promise.

"Take care of yourself, Jin," he said.

"And you as well," Jin said.

He embraced Touya one last time and they reluctantly broke apart. Touya turned for the door and made it partway down the hallway before collapsing in sobs.

.o.O.o.

Touya's eyes were red and hurt from crying, but thankfully Kurama hadn't inquired about it when Touya returned to their now-shared room. They had decided this was best; Kurama had volunteered to oversee the first part of Touya's journey to Living World and make sure he was comfortably settled in his new home with Genkai.

Touya still couldn't believe he had the chance to study under the famous Genkai. That chance would have never come had it not been for some complicated politics involving Team Urameshi and Team Toguro that resulted in Genkai being restored to life. Genkai had agreed to train Touya to fit in with the humans until a representative from Spirit World determined he could live on his own. Touya didn't like the idea of a Spirit World representative breathing down his neck, but it was better than the alternative.

He had said his goodbyes to Jin and now he was to be introduced to the rest of Team Urameshi. It was all happening so fast it made his head spin.

He couldn't help feeling nervous as he stood outside Urameshi's door with Kurama. How would they take his presence in their lives? Would they welcome him or see him as an intruder? Would they accept one of their former enemies as one of their own?

At last, Urameshi's door opened and he poked his head out, smiling at the sight of Kurama, though Touya could see it was more of a weary smile than anything. Clearly, the tournament had taken its toll on him.

"Hey Kurama," he said.

"Hello Yusuke," Kurama said. "I hope we're not too early."

"We…?" Urameshi's face screwed up into a puzzled expression until Touya stepped forward.

"Hello Urameshi," he said.

"Oh hey there Touya," Urameshi said with a nervous laugh. "Good to see you again."

"And you as well," Touya said warmly.

He had come to like Urameshi, probably because his personality was a lot like Jin's; loud and obnoxious, but also kind and caring underneath his rough exterior.

"Um…come in," Urameshi said, opening the door wider and stepping aside. "The others should be here soon though I seriously doubt Three Eyes will bother to show up."

Kurama chuckled softly. "Yes, Hiei tends to do whatever he pleases."

Urameshi excused himself to answer the door again and a group of girls entered the room. Touya recognized Urameshi's girlfriend, but not the two others with her. When he saw the last girl in the group, his eyes widened and he excused himself from Kurama's side.

"Hello Yukina," he said, going up to her.

Yukina smiled gently at him. "Hello, Touya. How have you been?"

"I'm well, thank you," Touya said. "And yourself?"

"I'm doing quite well, thanks," Yukina said.

Touya pulled her into a hug and whispered, "Let's talk privately when we can find a moment."

Yukina nodded and they pulled apart, acting like nothing had passed between them.

"Wait a minute," Urameshi said, pointing at the two of them. "You two know each other?"

"Yes, of course," Yukina said. "Our mothers were sisters."

Urameshi stared blankly at her. Touya rolled his eyes.

"We're cousins," he said irritably.

"Ohhh," Urameshi said. He frowned in confusion. "Wait. I thought Ice Maidens were always girls."

"Yuuuuuuuuuuuuukiiiiiiiiinaaaaaa!" Kuwabara chose that moment to burst into the room, saving Touya from a very awkward conversation.

"Hi Kazuma," Yukina said with a smile. "I'm so happy you were able to join us."

Out of the corner of his eye, Touya saw Kurama beckon Urameshi forward and whispered in his ear. From the way the both of them glanced at him, Touya could easily guess what they were talking about.

Touya jumped when he felt a hand gently squeeze his arm and tried to pay attention to the conversation going on around him.

"Touya, this is Kazuma, a friend of mine. Kazuma, this is my cousin Touya," Yukina said.

Kuwabara squinted at him. "Hey, aren't you one of the guys from Team Masho?"

"Yes," Touya said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, I remember you. You called out that dirty cheating bastard Risho and got clobbered for it. Glad to see you're okay," Kuwabara said.

"T…thanks," Touya muttered, taken aback.

He and Kuwabara studied each other intently for a few moments.

"You're a good guy," Kuwabara finally said. "You…and Jin, you both fought fairly and you stood up for what you believed in even though it led to you getting hurt. I respect that."

"Thank you," Touya said, finally managing to smile.

The conversation turned to other things and Touya found the chance to slip away. He went over to stand at the windows, which offered a panoramic view of the sun setting beyond the sea. He jumped when he felt a cool hand slide into his and glared at his cousin.

"Not much of a ninja are you, if I can sneak up on you so easily," Yukina teased.

"I'm usually the one doing the sneaking," Touya grumbled, but he couldn't help smiling.

They stood silently side by side for a while, staring at the sea.

"Why are you here?" Touya finally asked, not tearing his gaze away from the spectacular view.

There was no hostility in his tone, merely curiosity. It was exceedingly rare for Ice Maidens to leave the Glacial Village. He only hoped that she would avoid incurring the wrath of the Elders, as his mother had.

"I came to cheer on Yusuke and Kazuma because they have been so kind to me," Yukina said.

"They rescued you from Tarukane," Touya remembered.

He had been so grieved when he had learned of Yukina's kidnapping, even more so when he had learned her fate, but his vows as a Shinobi prevented him from interfering. He had been so glad to hear or her rescue and the end of Tarukane's empire.

"There was another reason for me leaving the Glacial Village," Yukina said, bringing Touya out of his silent musings. He turned to his cousin curiously. "It seems I have a brother."

"A brother?" Touya stared at Yukina.

He had been cast out of the Glacial Village long before Yukina was born and had only returned once a couple years ago so his knowledge of life in the Glacial Village was very limited. He had not heard of Hina giving birth to twins, though he wasn't surprised that was kept a secret.

"Yes." Yukina folded her hands and stared out the window, a troubled expression on her face. "A twin. He was cast out of our village when he was a baby and no one knows what became of him or if he is even still alive. Miss Rui believes he is still alive and so do I so I have come here looking for him."

"Why Living World?" Touya asked. "Wouldn't it be more likely for him to be in Demon World?"

Yukina shook her head. "It's only a feeling that I have, but I think he's somewhere in Living World. The Elders have granted me leave to search for him…"

"Bullshit," Touya interrupted. Yukina stared at him in surprise. "The Elders never would have willingly let you go. It's been a long time since I've been there, but I know what they think of the outside world." He paused for a moment, scrutinizing his cousin. "Yukina, did you run away?" Yukina was silent for a while and then nodded. "Ah."

Touya turned to stare out at the sea, waiting for Yukina to speak.

"I couldn't…" Yukina finally said and Touya turned to look at her again. "I couldn't bear to stay there any longer. You know what it's like living there, how confining it is." Touya nodded. "They freeze their hearts in order to survive and I just…I couldn't live like that."

"Well," Touya said slowly when Yukina had fallen silent. "It seems our family is destined to be disobedient. I'm not going to force you to return to the Glacial Village. In fact, I'm not returning to Demon World at all."

"You're not?" Yukina asked in surprise.

Briefly, Touya told her everything that had transpired, including a highly edited version of what Risho had done.

"That's awful," Yukina whispered, taking his hand. "I'm sorry."

Touya gently squeezed her hand. "I'm surviving and that's what matters. Though I would not be able to had Kurama not spoken for me and convinced Koenma to allow me to resettle in Living World."

He gazed at Kurama, who was across the room deep in conversation with Urameshi. Yukina followed his gaze and smiled.

"You like him, don't you?" she asked.

"Well, yes," Touya said. "There's a lot to admire about him. He's strong, brave, an excellent fighter…"

"You know that's not what I meant," Yukina said mildly.

It took a moment for it to click. "What? Oh, no, no, no, no, no. It's not like that at all. Really."

"Okay, if you say so." Yukina's tone suggested she didn't believe him.

"Hey, I know you two are cousins and all, but how about sharing your company with the rest of us?" a woman's voice cut through the awkward silence that had descended upon Touya and Yukina.

"Sorry Shizuru," Yukina said in an apologetic tone to a brunette woman. "Kazuma's older sister," she added to Touya in an undertone.

"Ah," Touya said.

"Come on, let's go and say hi to her," Yukina said, taking him by the hand. "And don't worry, she's not as ferocious as she seems."

_Ferocious is not the word I'd use to describe her,_ Touya thought dryly as his cousin dragged him back towards the others. _Obnoxiously loud, maybe, but not ferocious._

He was surprised at how little Shizuru resembled her brother and how much he actually liked her. She was blunt, but it wasn't to be mean. She just tended to speak her mind, consequences be damned. Sort of like Jin.

Touya shook his head. _I must stop comparing everyone to Jin._

It made his chest hurt, thinking about Jin.

He hastily excused himself from the conversation he had been pulled into and went to stand by the windows again. It was too dark to see the sea now, but it was comforting to know it was out there. He pressed his hand against the cool pane of class, closed his eyes, and tried to focus on his breathing. His shoulders shook, but he forced the sobs back. No matter how many times he tried, he couldn't completely cover his heart with ice like the rest of his kin. Perhaps it was because he was only half ice demon. Perhaps whatever characteristics he had inherited from his father was the reason why. He knew nothing of his father, not what type of demon he was, not even his name. It was a secret his mother had taken to her grave. He had mostly come to terms with the fact that he would probably never know his father's identity, but from time to time, he found himself wishing he did know. With a quiet sigh, he opened his eyes as he heard soft footsteps heading in his direction.

"Kurama," he said as his companion stood next to him at the window.

Kurama didn't seem surprised that Touya had heard him coming. "Are you all right?"

"Fine." The word sounded hollow. Touya hoped Kurama didn't hear it. "I just needed a moment. I was feeling a little overwhelmed."

"Ah," Kurama said. "That's understandable. You're not used to this sort of thing, are you?"

"No." Touya shook his head. "It does provide a nice distraction from…from…."

Dammit. He promised himself he wouldn't think of it. And now he couldn't stop the memories from flooding back to him. The world seemed to tilt sideways. He curled his hand into a first until his nails dug into his skin.

"Breathe," Kurama said softly in his ear.

Touya exhaled shakily and the tension left his body. The world seemed to right itself. He opened his hand. His palm was streaked with blood from where his nails had broken the skin.

"Come," Kurama said softly when he saw the blood. "Let's retire for the night."

Touya merely nodded. Kurama led the way across the room.

"Yusuke," he said, getting the dark-haired boy's attention. "Touya and I are going to retire for the night. It's been a long day."

Urameshi nodded gravely. "See you two in the morning."

He glanced at Touya, who curled up his hand to hide his bleeding palm.

"Yes," Touya said softly.

He allowed Kurama to lead him out of Urameshi's room and down the hallway to his room. He sat on the couch in the sitting area when Kurama bade him to and waited while Kurama disappeared into the bedroom. He came out a few moments later carrying a small first aid kit.

"Let me see your hand," he said softly, sitting on the couch next to Touya.

Touya held out his hand. He refused to meet Kurama's eyes as the red-haired demon gently tended to his injuries. He winced when he felt the sting of antiseptic, marveled at how gentle yet firm Kurama was when wrapping a bandage around his hand.

"There," Kurama said when he had finished.

Touya finally forced himself to look Kurama in the eye. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Kurama said. He got to his feet. "You should at least try to get some sleep. Today was a long day, but I fear that tomorrow is going to be even longer. You can take the bedroom and I'll sleep on the couch."

"I can't take the bedroom. This is your room," Touya protested. "And you are still injured."

He did not miss the bandages still wrapped around Kurama's arms, although they were less numerous than before.

"I'm all right," Kurama said although Touya didn't believe him.

He could see how weary Kurama was, though he tried to hide it. Touya had only heard bits and pieces of what had happened during his fight with Karasu, but knew that Kurama had come very close to death.

"Please," Touya said. "Take the bedroom. I think I will be much more comfortable out here on the couch. To be honest, I'm not used to all this…luxury." He gestured around the room at all the opulent furniture. "It makes me…uncomfortable."

Kurama smiled. "Fair enough. "Would you like me to bring you a pillow or blanket?"

"No, thank you," Touya said.

Truth be told, he wasn't planning on sleeping if he could help it, but he wasn't about to tell Kurama that.

"Very well," Kurama said. "I will see you in the morning. Sleep well."

He was at the bedroom door when Touya called out, "Good night Kurama."

Kurama paused and turned to smile at Touya. "Good night, Touya."

For some reason, that smile made Touya's heart beat faster.

.o.O.o.

Author's Notes: I apologize if there is any random gibberish in the chapter or something missing. My cat jumped on my keyboard at exactly the wrong time and I think I fixed what she did, but I can't be certain.

The chapter title "ave atque vale" are the last words in a poem written by the Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus and it's translated as "hail and farewell".


	10. Chapter 10 Brave New World

Author's Note: I heartily apologize for the long wait for this chapter. I was hoping that July was going to be better than June for productivity, but it wasn't. I'm hoping that August and September are better. October is when things are going to get crazy because I'm trying to get a book released in December and I need October and November to finish that up.

Chapter 10 Brave New World

It was not a good night for Touya.

He tried to stay awake as long as possible, but eventually he gave into his body's need for sleep, and found himself drifting off. And that's when the nightmares started. He couldn't remember any specific details afterwards, but that was probably for the best.

He woke in a panic, with cold sweat dripping down the back of his neck. He lay awake in the dark, trying to get his fear under control.

_It's okay,_ he thought. _I am okay. I am safe. Risho cannot touch me here. Kurama will protect me. _

At last, the panic subsided, but he knew he would not be able to sleep now. He rose from the couch and went to stand at the window. He didn't know why, but he found it soothing to look out the window even if it was too dark right now to see anything.

Gradually, the sky began to lighten. He watched the sunrise with the same awe he had felt the first time had seen a sunrise. It had been after he had been cast out of the Glacial Village; there was no sunrise or sunset there, just an endless winter. He had not been prepared for the sun's brightness nor its warmth. It was harsh and foreign to him, it hurt his eyes and burned his skin, but it awed him, and he found it beautiful. The first time he actually saw a sunrise, which ironically was after he first saw the sun, he was left speechless.

He and Jin had snuck away like a couple of naughty children and climbed onto the roof of the training hall, since Touya had confessed he had never seen a sunrise before, at least not that he could remember. Touya was still weak from his illness at this point so Jin had carried him. It was terrifying, yet exhilarating. And seeing the sun slowly rise over the mountains painting the sky a myriad of colors was well worse the risk of breaking his neck—or worse.

Touya couldn't help smiling at the memory even though thinking of Jin made his chest ache. Perhaps one day, it wouldn't.

.o.O.o.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the final boat back to the mainland will board within the hour. Please complete your checkout and proceed to the dock for departure. I repeat: this is the final trip off the island. We hope you enjoyed your stay."

Touya looked up from his barely touched tea at Kurama, who sat across from him at a small table in the hotel's lobby.

"Are you ready to go?" Kurama asked quietly.

Touya merely nodded. He abandoned his tea which was cold by now and followed Kurama towards the rest of his…their group. It was going to take some getting used to, thinking of those people as part of his group.

As they exited the hotel, Touya heard Kuwabara, who was struggling under the weight of several large backs and other miscellaneous pieces of luggage, mutter about how he wasn't a pack mule. It was a beautiful day as they followed the path down to the dock and yet Touya could sense the sadness that hung over the group.

_It's because of Genkai,_ Touya thought. _Fortunately for them, Genkai is all right, that is, if everything has gone according to plan._

He truly hoped so; Genkai was the only hope he had of surviving right now.

As if on cue, an old woman's voice called out, "Well excuse me if I'm a little insulted."

The entire group turned around and cried out in surprise and happiness when they saw the figure of Genkai walking towards them.

"You just gonna leave the old fossil behind?" Genkai said.

Touya hung back as the rest of the group ran forward to greet the old woman; he did not know her and didn't really know how to react in this situation. He frowned worriedly. If he couldn't fit in with this group, what chance did he have of fitting in with the rest of humanity?

He saw Genkai say something and the rest of the group started to head for the dock. Genkai lagged behind, waiting for him, Touya realized. He hastened to catch up to her, though he tried not to look like he was hurrying.

"So you're Touya," Genkai said, giving him an appraising look once he had caught up to her.

"Yes ma'am," Touya said.

Genkai gave a barking laugh. "No need to be formal with me. Just plain old Genkai will do."

"All right," Touya said.

He didn't think it would be hard to do that.

"Koenma has already filled me in on everything," Genkai said. "I'm to take you in and teach you how to fit in with the humans." She gave Touya another look. "Shouldn't be too difficult. You appear to be intelligent enough. But I'll see what you're capable of for myself once we get home and we'll go from there." Touya nodded. "Don't worry." Genkai patted him on the shoulder. "If I can teach that dimwit Yusuke, I can teach you."

And with that, the two of them headed for the dock.

The boat trip back to the mainland was fairly unremarkable, which Touya hoped was a sign of things to come. At least this time, he handled himself with more dignity on the voyage; the trip on the way to Hanging Neck Island had been his first boat ride ever and he had not been prepared for the motion of the boat causing violent bouts of seasickness Jin had laughed at him for clutching the rail for dear life as the boat rode over the waves, but also comforted him when he vomited. This time, he only felt slightly nauseous and his legs wobbled a bit when he stepped back on dry land.

They walked through the forest, taking a different path than the one Touya had taken when he had arrived. They came out to a road, very different than those found in certain parts of Demon World. Most of the roads in Demon World, if they even existed, were made of hard packed dirt or gravel or were more like primitive trails than actual roads. Some of the larger cities were paved, but were still fairly crude. This road was black and smooth, stretching for as far as Touya could see, made of a substance Kurama called asphalt when Touya asked him about it, and painted with lines Touya could only guess the meaning of. He knew enough about the Living World to know he shouldn't crouch and touch the asphalt, though he was curious if it was actually as smooth as it looked and what texture it actually had.

In front of them was what essentially looked like a box on wheels with large windows on either side. Kurama was kind enough to explain in a low voice that this was a bus, used to transport humans places.

The driver of the bus gave Touya a long look as he boarded. Touya wore the navy blue shirt and pants from his Shinobi uniform and items called shoes and socks that humans wore on their feet. Touya had immediately hated them when he had put them on this morning in the hotel room before breakfast; they made his feet feel hot and cramped, but he would wear them with silent dignity. He supposed it was his hair more than his outfit that gave the driver pause, but at least he let Touya on.

He was joined by Kurama, who was going to spend the night at Genkai's before heading back to his human family in the city, Genkai of course, and Yukina, who was to stay with Genkai to improve upon her healing skills as a cover while she searched for her long-lost brother. The others would have to wait for a different bus that would take them directly back to the city with the exception of Botan, whom Touya had met briefly at the party and Hiei. The former had stayed with Koenma because she apparently worked for him in Spirit World and the latter had vanished as soon as they had disembarked from the ship. Touya was not grieved to see Hiei go; he had the distinct impression that Hiei despised him.

The bus ride was much smoother than Touya expected. Except for some tight corners and some close calls with small moving objects called cars that set Touya's stomach on edge, he fared much better than he thought. Still, he was happy when he stepped off the bus back into the fresh air. They followed a path through an ancient forest that gently sloped upwards. Touya would have found the walk relaxing, but his feet were incredibly uncomfortable in his shoes. Then they climbed a long flight of stone steps that led to a massive gate. Genkai, who led the group, pushed the large wooden doors open, revealing a sprawling complex with several wooden buildings of different shapes and sizes. Touya immediately felt at peace within the walls of Genkai's compound, though he couldn't say what made him feel that way.

"Touya, you and Yukina will be staying in the main house with me," Genkai said, leading them across a courtyard to the largest of the buildings. "I assume you'll be staying the night as well, Kurama?"

"If it's not too much trouble, Master Genkai," Kurama said.

"Of course not," Genkai said briskly. "There's plenty of room here. The rooms aren't much, but they should be comfortable enough."

She led them through the main house which was a strange mixture of traditional and modern decoration and showed them the rooms they would be staying in. As she had said, there wasn't much to the rooms; they were small and simply furnished, but Touya found that he liked it. It reminded him of his lodgings with the Shinobi. He thought that it would make him feel sad, but he found it comforting. Strangely, he felt like he belonged here at Genkai's compound.

He felt like he was home.


	11. Chapter 11 Endless Rondo

Author's Note: Hey look, it didn't take me more than a month to post the next chapter. Hopefully that's a sign of how this month is going to go, which is much better than the last.

Part Two

.o.O.o.

Chapter 11 Endless Rondo

"Are you absolutely sure this is wise, Master Genkai?" Kurama asked with a worried frown. "It's only been a couple weeks. Has he had enough training?"

"He'll be fine," Genkai said. "I have every confidence in him."

Touya hovered at his bedroom door, listening in on the conversation. He had slid his door open as much as he dared so he could peek out at them. He had already dressed himself in human clothes in anticipation of today's outing—Kurama was taking him into the city so he could acquire more human clothes. It was necessary in order for him to be able to better fit in with humans, but it was also a test to see how he handled being among the humans. He didn't feel as confident as Genkai, but he trusted her judgement.

The past several weeks had flown by quickly, filled with training from Genkai. He learned various habits and customs of the human race as well as how to read and write the human language. He spoke the human language fairly well—all Shinobi were taught several different languages during their training, but according to Genkai, he needed to be able to read and write as well. These lessons he shared with Yukina in the morning. Then after lunch, Touya had private lessons with Genkai, improving his fighting skills, particularly in hand to hand combat. Even now, it wasn't his strongest skill, but he was improving.

The conversation between Kurama and Genkai ended and Touya hurried away from the door so he wouldn't be caught eavesdropping. A few moments later, there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in," Touya said, hoping he didn't sound too nervous.

His door slid open and Genkai entered. Touya had the feeling that she knew he had been eavesdropping, but thankfully, she didn't bring it up.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked.

"Yes, Master Genkai," Touya said.

"Good," Genkai said. "You shouldn't run into any difficulties, but don't let your guard down."

"Does Kurama know?" Touya asked.

"I'm sure he suspects something is amiss," Genkai said. "Hell, I'd be worried if he didn't notice, but I haven't said anything to him."

"Should we tell him?" Touya asked.

"What is there to tell?" Genkai said. "All we have right now is a bunch of humans suddenly developing psychic powers. We don't know for sure if there's been a breach. It could just be a border fluctuation."

"I think there are too many new psychics in too short a period of time to be just a border fluctuation," Touya said slowly.

Genkai gave him a sharp look and then sighed. "You're right. Damn."

"What should we do? Should we cancel the trip?" Touya asked.

"No, I don't think that's necessary," Genkai said. "In fact, I think it would be better if you do go. That way, you can see with your own eyes how things stand rather than relying on secondhand information which may be incorrect, incomplete, or exaggerated."

"What about Kurama?" Touya asked.

"I leave that up to you. I trust your judgement in this situation," Genkai said.

"Thank you, Master Genkai," Touya said, a little bit surprised. "I'm honored you trust me with such a heavy burden."

"Oh now don't get sappy on me," Genkai said, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. "Kurama is probably wondering what the hell is taking so long."

Kurama waited patiently in the living room chatting with Yukina when Touya and Genkai arrived.

"Ah, hello," he said with a friendly smile when he saw Touya.

"Hello Kurama," Touya said, blushing as Kurama's eyes traveled down his body, taking in his human clothes.

"Are you ready to go?" Kurama asked. Touya merely nodded. "We should get going then. It's quite a long journey into the city."

They said goodbye to Genkai and Yukina and headed out.

"How long will it take us to get to the city?" Touya asked.

"A couple hours," Kurama said. "While there are advantages to Genkai's compound being so isolated, it can make traveling a bit of a challenge."

Just how much of a challenge it was became clear to Touya when they finally reached the road. They waited for half an hour or so for a bus that only came out this way twice a week and they'd had to get up at the crack of dawn in order to catch it. The bus ride itself took two and a half hours. Kurama napped, but Touya stared out in wonder at the ever-changing landscape. The forest where Genkai's compound was situated gradually thinned and the mountainous land flattened into gently rolling hills.

Kurama woke as they approached the first major settlement Touya had seen. There had been several stops along the way, some like the one they had gotten on at in the middle of nowhere, and some in small villages. Most of them had been deserted, but a few people joined them. Now, more people got on. Some gave him a long look as they passed by, but most of them ignored him. Touya went back to staring out the window as the bus departed.

They passed through several more of these settlements, which Kurama called "towns". People came and went from the bus, generally minding their own business. Touya was surprised at how orderly and calm the whole thing was. As the landscape became more barren, Touya's anxiety rose because he knew they had to be getting close.

He couldn't help gasping when he first caught a glimpse of the city. Some demons had organized themselves into cities, some more advanced than others, but none of the demon cities Touya had seen were as advanced as this.

Touya tried not to gawk as he and Kurama walked down the street, but he couldn't help staring at everything. The sights, sounds, and smells were overwhelming. The buildings were all crammed together, which made him feel claustrophobic. And there were people everywhere of all shapes and sizes. Everyone seemed to be in a perpetual hurry; they walked with their heads down at a swift pace and it was a wonder they didn't crash into each other. There was no silence, though. People chattering, their footsteps on the concrete, rustling clothing, the sounds of vehicles on the road, horns honking, all combined into a dull roar of noise that made Touya feel dizzy.

He was relieved when Kurama led him into a clothing shop; it was far quieter and less hectic than the street. Kurama helped him try on and purchase several different types of clothing, shoes, and socks. Touya silently wondered if he really needed all this clothing, but trusted Kurama's judgement. Kurama arranged for everything to be sent back to Genkai's so they wouldn't have to carry it all around with them.

By the time they were finished shopping, it was lunchtime, so Kurama found them a nice little restaurant with tables outside to eat at. Touya was glad they were outside; he didn't think he could bear to sit inside a dark, crowded building crammed with people. A waitress brought them menus and poured water for them.

Touya frowned as he stared at the menu. Even with all of Genkai's instruction, he didn't know what most of the things on the menu were.

"Touya," Kurama said in a gentle voice and Touya looked up at him. "You need not be ashamed if you don't know what any of this food is. You are still new here. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have."

"Uh…" Touya paused.

He had the feeling all of a sudden that they were being watched. Moments later, Kurama seemed to sense it as well because his eyes narrowed.

**Do you see them?** Touya mouthed, hoping that Kurama could read lips.

Kurama gave a curt nod and glanced at a point over Touya's shoulder. Touya turned in his seat and bent down as if to check his shoelace, allowing his gaze to briefly turn in the direction Kurama had silently indicated. One glance was all Touya needed to see them lurking in the shadows. He straightened up and gave Kurama a look. Kurama glanced at the street, indicating they should leave. Touya nodded. Both of them stood up, leaving their menus neatly folded on the table.

When they hit the street, Kurama said in a low voice, "We need to split up."

"Is that wise?" Touya asked in an equally low voice; every instinct in his body screaming for them to stay together.

Kurama gave a slow nod. "Lure them into a false sense of security. Make sure they are away from humans. Yusuke and Kuwabara are nearby." Touya gave Kurama a surprised look. "Wanted them on standby just in case something went wrong."

Touya nodded, not offended that Kurama had brought in Urameshi and Kuwabara as backup. It made logical sense.

As they came to the end of the street, Kurama said, "Go right. I'll go left."

"Good luck," Touya muttered.

"You too," Kurama said.

At the end of the street, Touya turned right towards a small park. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two of the demons turn his way while the other two followed Kurama. Good. He kept his pace casual, trying to make it look like he was unaware he was being followed. He rounded the corner to enter the park gate and walked straight into a third demon. He grunted; it was like running into a brick wall and it knocked the wind out of him. The demon smiled a horrifying smile revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth and grabbed Touya by the shoulders.

"We've been waiting for you," the demon said.

Then, something hit Touya hard in the back of the head and he knew no more.

.o.O.o.

Ironically, he woke up because he hit his head. It was not a pleasant way for him to wake up and it took him a few moments for him to get his bearings. He lay on his side with his wrists bound behind his back. He lifted his head a bit to look around and saw that he was in the back of some sort of vehicle traveling very fast. There was someone else with him, a blonde human male around the same age as Urameshi and Kuwabara sitting cross-legged in the corner. Blue eyes widened when he saw Touya awake.

"Black Angel!" he called. "He's awake! What do I do?"

"Use the chloroform," a man answered patiently from the front.

"That's what we brought it for," a younger man's voice added.

"Right," the boy muttered.

He produced a bottle and cloth and unscrewed the bottle's cap. He waited for a moment as the vehicle hit another bump and they both bounced wildly. When the danger was past, he tipped the bottle onto the cloth. He carefully replaced the cap and crawled over to where Touya lay.

"Sorry," he muttered, pressing the cloth to Touya's nose and mouth.

Touya was aware of a sweet smell and struggled, but to no avail the chloroform took effect and everything faded to black.

.o.O.o.

It was dark when he woke again and he was no longer in motion. Once again, his hands were bound behind his back, though these restraints felt like metal instead of rope. When he tried to raise his head to get a better look around, he felt a wave of dizziness and had to put his head back down. He didn't understand. Why did he feel so weak? The chloroform shouldn't have made him feel this bad. There must have been something else going on. But what?

From what he could tell, he was in some sort of prison cell. It was small, square, dark, and bare with a single window high up on the wall that provided a meager amount of light. The walls and floors were made of solid concrete and the door was made of metal.

"Hello?" he called out in a hoarse voice. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

For a few moments, there was only silence, but then he heard an equally hoarse voice call back, "Yeah! I'm here!"

The voice was the baritone of a male, coming from the other side of the wall, presumably from a cell identical to Touya's. He could hear something else in the man's voice: fear.

"My name is Touya," he said, trying to keep his own voice calm. "What's your name?"

"M…Murota," the man stammered. He sounded close to tears.

"How long have you been here, Murota?" Touya asked.

"I…I don't know!" Murota's voice rose in hysteria. "I can't tell if it's day or night!"

"Easy there," Touya murmured. He thought for a moment. "Murota, do you remember what day you were captured and brought here?"

"Uh…" Murota trailed off for a moment. "June 5th. I think."

"Okay," Touya said. "I was captured on the 12th. I can't say how long I was unconscious so you've been here at least a week, if not more."

"Oh god." Murota's voice quivered. "What do they want with us?"

"I don't know," Touya said.

He felt like he was missing something vastly important, though for the life of him, he couldn't think of what it was.

Murota began weeping. "I wanna go home."

"I know," Touya said in what he hoped was a soothing tone. Empathy had never been his strong suit. "We're going to get out of this."

"Really?" Murota asked hopefully.

"Yes," Touya lied. "But you need to stop crying, okay?"

"Okay." There was a loud sniffle and Murota's sobs stopped.

"Good," Touya said, relieved that the crying had stopped. "Now, I need you to think. Do you remember anything about the people who captured you? What they looked like, their names, anything?"

"Uh…" Murota said slowly. "You're gonna think I'm crazy."

"Try me," Touya said.

"Don't laugh, okay?" Murota said.

"I won't. I promise," Touya said.

"I was surrounded by these…creatures that dragged me off. They had beady eyes and grey skin," Murota said. "You don't believe me, do you?" he added angrily.

"Of course I believe you," Touya said. "It sounds like you were taken by the same group that got me."

"Really?" Murota asked.

"Yeah," Touya said. "Now, do you remember anyone else besides the creatures? Were there humans too?"

"Yeah," Murota said confidently. "There was a dark-haired man with tan skin and a dot on his forehead, a younger kid, maybe seventeen or so with dark hair and brown eyes, and another kid who was even younger, like fourteen or fifteen with blonde hair and blue eyes."

"What about their names?" Touya pressed.

"Uh…" Murota said.

"Quiet!" Touya hissed as his sharp hearing picked up the sound of footsteps heading in their direction. "Someone's coming."

"You can hear them?" Murota asked in amazement.

"Just be quiet!" Touya hissed again. "I don't know if they want us talking to each other or what they'll do to us if they find out."

"Okay," Murota said.

Thankfully, he fell silent after that. Touya held his breath as he listened to the footsteps come nearer and nearer. Then, they passed his cell. He exhaled as quietly as he could. Then inhaled again when the footsteps stopped in front of what Touya presumed was Murota's cell. There was a loud metallic groaning sound and then a man started speaking in a low voice. Touya strained to hear what he said.

"Have you thought about our proposal?" the man said.

"Yeah and my answer is the same as it was before. I ain't joinin' a buncha freaks like you," Murota said with a surprising amount of vehemence.

"That's too bad," the man said, his voice never losing its calm, polite demeanor, and for some reason that chilled Touya to the bone. "We could have used a man with your talents." He sighed rather dramatically. "I had hoped you would see our point of view. There are more persuasive methods of convincing you, but we are short on time. I'm afraid we're going to have to do this the hard way. Gourmet?"

There were heavier footsteps and a yell from Murota.

"What are you…?" Murota's question ended in a horrible scream.

Touya closed his eyes and tried to block out the sickening sound of Murota being eaten alive. He knew there were certain demons who ate humans. As a Shinobi, he had occasionally come into contact with them either as an employer or as a target. He had tried to work with them in a polite, professional manner even though he generally found them repulsive.

They always had really bad breath too.

At last, there was silence again, though that was worse in some ways because it made the absence of Murota conspicuous. There had not been time for them to bond or get to know each other and Touya had never even seen his face and yet he was filled with grief over his loss.

He heard departing footsteps, but he barely acknowledged them, trying to fight off nausea and fear. Would he be next? Was it his fate to die like Murota? Did they know what he really was, or did they think he was just a normal human like Murota?

Other things were bugging him as well. Why were he and Murota even taken? Why were humans and demons working together? Had Murota died for a reason? There were too many questions and no way for them to be answered. He had little hope of being rescued as well. He was sure that although Kurama and the others knew he was gone, they had no way to track him. All he could do was wait and see what became of him.

.o.O.o.

Touya opened his eyes at the sound of metal scraping and groaning. He blinked as his cell was flooded with light. A man stepped into the cell. He was older, perhaps late twenties or early thirties with short dark hair, large square glasses, and a lab coat. His expression was placid, but Touya could sense a wolfish demeanor underneath.

"Hello," he said in a soft voice that made Touya's skin crawl. "My name is Doctor." Touya said nothing, staring hatefully up at one of his captors. After a while, Doctor continued, "I'm sure there are many things you are wondering about. Who we are, what we're doing, what you're doing here, and so on. I'm afraid there's not much I can tell you."

"You can't tell me or you won't tell me?" Touya asked angrily, trying to sit up. He felt a wave of dizziness and he had to lay back down and close his eyes.

"Easy there," Doctor said, though he sounded more amused than concerned. "You don't want to overdo it in your state, do you?"

"What do you mean?" Touya asked, keeping his eyes closed. "What have you done to me?"

"I haven't done anything," Doctor said.

"Then why do I feel so dizzy and weak?" Touya asked.

"You are feeling the effects of very special handcuffs," Doctor said. "Designed specifically for demons, they sap your energy. Although it seems they're a little stronger than intended. We did not account for the child you are carrying."

Touya's mouth went dry. He opened his eyes and stared up at his captor. "You're…you lying. I can't be."

"I confirmed it myself. You are six weeks pregnant," Doctor said. "There was some concern when you took your time waking up so they consulted me. I am still a doctor when all is said and done and you are much more valuable to use alive."

"Why?" Touya asked.

"Why do you think?" Doctor's smile was predatory.

"Bait," Touya whispered in horror. "You're using me as bait."

"That's right," Doctor said.

"Why? What interest do you have with Urameshi and the others?" Touya asked.

Doctor only smiled enigmatically. Touya growled in frustration.

"Of course, just having you isn't enough," Doctor said, walking over to Touya. He crouched down. "We need to provide them with an incentive."

Touya flinched as a needle pricked the skin of his neck and then Doctor injected something into his body.

"What did you give me?" Touya demanded, fear coursing through him.

"A virus of my own creation," Doctor said with a smug smile. "We haven't had a demon test subject yet so it will be interesting to see how your reaction differs from a human's. And there's also your pregnancy to consider and the effects that will have. Will you let the child within you die so you can save yourself or will you die to try and save it?"

He laughed and Touya felt a wave of revulsion. This man was a doctor. He was supposed to save lives, not perform sick experiments like this. Touya couldn't even find the words to express how disgusted he was. Meanwhile, Doctor kept laughing as he departed from Touya's cell.

As soon as he was gone, Touya closed his eyes. If he was six weeks pregnant, as Doctor had said, he should be able to sense it. All living creatures gave off energy of some kind, even those not yet born. It would take a great deal of focus, but if there really was a child growing inside him, he would know. He tried to slow his breathing and clear his mind, not an easy task in his circumstances. He took several calm breaths and quieted his mind from his racing thoughts. Then, he reached out, searching. For a few moments, he found nothing. But then…

It was unmistakable.

He could sense his child's life, feel it stirring within him. He let out a low moan.

_What am I going to do?_ He thought. _Is there any way to survive this? I could let the baby die, but am I willing to sacrifice an innocent life for mine? No, I already have enough blood on my hands. I have to at least try to save it. I may end up losing my life but so be it. _

He breathed deeply and reached out. He would use whatever small amount of demon energy he had left to shield the baby and then when that ran out, he would use his life energy.

_I don't know how long I will last once I have to tap into my life energy,_ he thought. _Please hurry, Kurama. Please. _


End file.
